Osteoglycin (OGN) promotes tumorigenesis of pancreatic cancer cell via targeting ID4

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the seventh-leading cause of cancer-related mortality, and is associated with limited therapeutic options and poor prognosis. The extracellular matrix (ECM) represents the main component of the tumor microenvironment. Studies have found controversial roles of osteoglycin (OGN), a classical small leucine-rich proteoglycan found in the ECM in human malignancies; however, the significance of OGN in PC has not been determined. Here, the expression profiles of OGN in PC tissues and cell lines were evaluated by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database, immunohistochemistry, western blot, and quantitative PCR. OGN was found to be significantly upregulated in PC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, the expression of OGN was observed to be closely associated with TNM stage, stage III showed a higher OGN expression than that of stages I and II. Survival analysis showed that patients with PC showing high levels of OGN had low survival rates. The effects of OGN on cell proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed using MTT, CCK8, EdU and TUNEL assays. Wound-healing and invasion assays were conducted to test migratory and invasive abilities. Overexpression of OGN was demonstrated to promote proliferation, migration, and invasion, and inhibit apoptosis of PC cells. Further experiments revealed that inhibitor of DNA binding 4 (ID4) was upregulated by OGN. Silencing ID4 by small interfering RNA was shown to partially reverse the tumor-promoting effect of OGN. Collectively, our preliminary results indicate that the elevated expression of OGN may be associated with PC progression and may serve as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of PC. Targeting of OGN/ID4 axis may be a promising strategy in PC therapy. • Osteoglycin (OGN) is upregulated in pancreatic cancer (PC) tissues and cells. • OGN overexpression is positively correlated with poor overall survival. • OGN enhances PC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and reduces apoptosis. • Inhibitor of DNA binding 4 (ID4) mediates OGN’s effects on PC cells.