High expression of HMBOX1 promotes the progression of lung squamous cell carcinoma

This study aimed to explore the expression of homeobox-containing 1 (HMBOX1) and its clinical significance in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of HMBOX1 in LSCC tissues. The relationship between HMBOX1 expression and clinical pathological data was analyzed by Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Furthermore, the role of HMBOX1 in LSCC in vitro was detected by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide), flow cytometry and Western blot (WB) assays. HMBOX1 was highly expressed in LSCC tissues when compared with para-cancer tissues (P<0.05). According to the median expression of HMBOX1, the patients were divided into two groups, including high-expression group and low-expression group. HMBOX1 expression was correlated with tumor size, differentiation and clinical stage (P<0.05). Subsequent experiments indicated that LSCC cells with low expression of HMBOX1 exhibited significantly inhibited proliferation, G0/G1 block and promoted apoptosis (P<0.05). HMBOX1 expression was positively correlated with the expression of VEGF, elaborating that HMBOX1 probably promoted the growth of LSCC cells by affecting VEGF. HMBOX1 might contribute to the development of LSCC.