Role of Coiled-Coil Domain-Containing Protein 86 in Tumorigenesis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Coiled-coil domain-containing protein 86 (CCDC86) expression is correlated with the occurrence of lymphoma. However, the expression of CCDC86 in solid tumors such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and the effects of CCDC86 on tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here we studied both problems using tumor tissue samples from NPC patients, NPC cell lines (in vivo), and a model of transplanted tumor in BALB/c nude mice (in vitro). We found that CCDC86 protein was expressed in all studied cell lines, but its expression in CNE1, CNE2, CNE-2Z, 5-8F, and 6-10B cell lines was higher than in nasopharyngeal epithelium cell lines NP69 and NP460. In tumor tissues obtained from patients with NPC, CCDC86 expression was higher than in normal (adjacent) tissues. Knockdown of CCDC86 gene inhibited colony formation and cell proliferation, but increased apoptosis. In BALB/c nude mice transplanted with CCDC86-knockdown CNE-2Z cells, tumors barely grew in comparison with the controls transplanted with CNE-2Z cells transfected with an empty vector lentivirus. In conclusion, CCDC86 is expressed in NPC tissues and NPC cell lines and is closely associated with NPC tumorigenesis. Our study may provide insights into exploring the novel therapeutic targets for NPC.