ZBTB20 promotes cell migration and invasion of gastric cancer by inhibiting IκBα to induce NF-κB activation

Abstract

Zinc finger and BTB domain containing 20 (ZBTB20), a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor, has been found to be involved in tumorigenesis. However, its role(s) in gastric cancer and the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly investigated. Here, our data demonstrated that ZBTB20 expression was markedly upregulated in gastric cancer cell lines infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and in gastric cancer tumor samples. Loss- and gain-of-function studies showed that ZBTB20 promoted cell proliferation, invasion and migration of gastric cancer cell lines. Mechanistically, the phosphorylation of NF-κBp65 and expression and activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were increased, while IκBα expression was decreased by ZBTB20 in gastric cancer cells. We further revealed that IκBα overexpression significantly inhibited NF-κB signaling as well as cell migration, invasion and proliferation in gastric cancer cell lines induced by ZBTB20 overexpression. Therefore, our findings emphasize an important role for ZBTB20 in controlling gastric cancer development, which is helpful to identify potential therapeutic targets for its treatment.