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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis
Published on: March 30, 2019
DDX21 promotes gastric cancer proliferation by regulating cell cycle
Jiayi Cao1, Nan Wu1, Yuying Han1
1Lab of Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Life Science, Northwest University, 229 Taibai North Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710069, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) cassette helicase 21 (DDX21) is an ATP-dependent RNA helicase that is overexpressed in various malignancies. There is increasing evidence that DDX21 is involved in carcinogenesis and cancer progression by promoting cell proliferation. However, the functional role of DDX21 in gastric cancer is largely unknown. In this study, we observed that DDX21 was significantly up-regulated in gastric cancer tissues compared to paired adjacent normal tissues. The expression of DDX21 was closely related to the pathological stage of gastric cancer. In vitro and in vivo studies had shown that knockdown of DDX21 inhibited gastric cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, G1/S cell cycle transition and xenograft growth, while ectopic expression of DDX21 promoted these cell functions. Mechanically, DDX21 induced gastric cancer cell growth by up-regulating levels of Cyclin D1 and CDK2. Taken together, these results revealed a novel role for DDX21 in the proliferation of gastric cancer cells via the Cyclin D1 and CDK2 pathways. Therefore, DDX21 can be used as a therapeutic target for gastric cancer.
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