Expression of Nup93 is associated with the proliferation, migration and invasion capacity of cervical cancer cells

Cervical cancer is a prevalent and devastating malignancy in females worldwide. Nucleoporin 93 (Nup93), a member of the nuclear pore complex, plays an important role in transport across the nuclear pore. Several nucleoporins have been linked to cancer. However, the oncogenic role and underlying mechanism of Nup93 in cervical cancer development have not been reported. In this study, the expression of Nup93 was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), western blot analysis, and immunohistochemical staining in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines. We found that the expression of Nup93 was higher in cervical cancer samples, compared to normal cervical samples. The knockdown of Nup93 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of cervical cancer cells. At the same time, we also found that silencing of Nup93 could inhibit cellular migration and invasion by regulating cytoskeleton actin and Rho family proteins. Nup93 also participated in the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway. In addition, down-regulation of Nup93 prevented tumor formation in mice in vivo. Thus, Nup93 may be a carcinogenic gene and serve as a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.