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Published on: September 15, 2023
MAL2 interacts with IQGAP1 to promote pancreatic cancer progression by increasing ERK1/2 phosphorylation
Bin Zhang1, Jun Xiao1, Xiang Cheng1
1Department of Digestive Surgical Oncology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China; Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
Abstract:
Pancreatic cancer is a digestive tract malignancy characterized by an occult onset and rapid progression. The genetic heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer is closely related to its highly malignant biological behavior. The myelin and lymphocyte protein 2 (MAL2) is upregulated in multiple cancers at the transcriptional level. However, the exact role of MAL2 in pancreatic cancer remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrated that MAL2 protein and mRNA levels were upregulated in pancreatic cancer. MAL2 overexpression was significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer. We further showed that MAL2 interacted with IQGAP1 to increase ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels, which promoted pancreatic cancer progression. Therefore, these results suggest that MAL2 could be a novel therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.
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