Rad50 promotes ovarian cancer progression through NF-κB activation

Rad50 is a component of MRN (Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1), which participates in DNA double-strand break repair and DNA-damage checkpoint activation. Here, we sought to investigate the clinical and functional significance of Rad50 in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). We found that Rad50 was frequently upregulated in HGSOCs and enhanced Rad50 expression inversely correlated with patient survival. In addition, ectopic expression of Rad50 promoted proliferation/invasion and induced EMT of ovarian cancer cells, whereas knockdown of Rad50 led to decreased aggressive behaviors. Mechanistic investigations revealed that Rad50 induced aggressiveness in HGSOC via activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. Moreover, we identified CARD9 as an interacting protein of Rad50 in ovarian cancer cells and the activation of NF-κB pathway by Rad50 is CARD9 dependent. Our findings provide evidence that Rad50 exhibits oncogenic property via NF-κB activation in HGSOC.