SNRPA enhances tumour cell growth in gastric cancer through modulating NGF expression

SNRPA is a protein component of U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U1 snRNP) complex, which takes part in the splicing of pre-mRNAs. Its expression and function in tumour remain unknown. Herein, we elucidated the functional contribution of SNRPA to the progression of gastric cancer (GC).

SNRPA expression was investigated in a GC tissue microarray by immunohistochemical staining. Cell proliferation was evaluated by CCK-8, colony formation and EdU incorporation assays. A mouse xenograft model was used to detect the tumourigenicity. Gene expression profiling was performed and then the potential target genes were verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analyses. The functional relevance between SNRPA and its target gene was examined by cell growth assays.

SNRPA expression was higher in tumour tissues than in matched normal gastric mucosa tissues, and it was positively correlated with the tumour size and progression. High SNRPA expression indicated poor prognosis of GC patients. Silencing SNRPA in GC cells markedly inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and tumour growth in a xenograft model, while overexpressing SNRPA exhibited opposite results. Moreover, we identified NGF (Nerve growth factor) as a downstream effector of SNRPA and further proved that NGF was crucial for SNRPA-mediated GC cell growth.

These findings suggested that SNRPA may contribute to GC progression via NGF and could be a prognostic biomarker for GC.