Overexpression of Dermokine-α enhances the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of pancreatic tumor cells

Pancreatic cancer is a prevalent malignancy of the digestive system and a major cause of cancer-associated deaths. Previous studies have shown that mutation in the dermokine-β (DMKN-β) gene causes pancreatic and colorectal cancer. The role of the carboxy-terminal domain of DMKN-β and dermokine-α (DMKN-α) genes in cancer tumorigenesis. Herein, the role of DMKN-α in pancreatic cancer (PC) tumorigenesis and the mechanisms underlying this process were investigated. Differentially expressed genes between PC and matched normal cells were identified through RNA-seq analysis, and the corresponding protein expression levels were verified using Western blot analysis. In vivo tumor formation experiment was also performed in nude mice. We found that the DMKN-α gene was overexpressed in cancerous pancreatic cell lines compared to normal pancreatic cell lines. CCK-8, colony formation, RTCA test, wound healing, as well as transwell test showed that the overexpression of DMKN-α enhanced the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of PC cells. In vivo assays confirmed that DMKN-α promotes tumorigenesis. The findings of this study show that DMKN-α is a potential oncogene for pancreatic cancer.