Dual Inhibition of PSME2 and STAT3 Induces Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Death via Synthetic Lethal Effects
Abnormal expression of PSME2(proteasome activator complex subunit 2,PSME2)is closely correlated with the occurrence and development of various tumors,but its biological function and clinical significance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)are still unclear.In this study,we analyzed the transcriptome data of ESCC from the TCGA-ESCC and GSE53625 databases and found that high expression of PSME2 in ESCC patients was associated with poor prognosis.Additionally,the protein expression level of PSME2 in ESCC tissues was higher than that in adjacent non-cancerous tissues.Silencing of PSME2 in KYSE30 cells and NE6-T cells resulted in significant decreases in proliferation,invasion,migration,and clonogenicity of ESCC cells.Moreover,this was accompanied by a significant increase in the expression of LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-I protein ratio and a decrease in p62 protein expression as well as activation of autophagy.GSEA enrichment analysis indicated that the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway was activated in the PSME2 low-expression group.Silencing of PSME2 in KYSE30 cells and NE6-T cells led to increased secretion of IL-6 and elevated p-STAT3 protein levels.The molecular changes induced by PSME2 silencing were abrogated by treatments with LMT28 or WP1066.The combination of PSME2 silencing and WP1066 treatment significantly increased the LDH content in the supernatant of KYSE30 and NE6-T cell cultures.Calcein/PI staining revealed a cell death rate of 36.69%and 32.55%,respectively,which was significantly higher than that of the PSME2 silencing group(6.78%and 6.74%)or the WP1066 treatment group alone(18.34%and 9.70%).This study demonstrates that PSME2 promotes the malignant progression of ESCC and that PSME2 silencing compensates for this by activating autophagy through the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.Furthermore,the combined inhibition of PSME2 and STAT3 induces synthetic lethal effects and leads to cell death in esophageal squamous carcinoma cells,suggesting that PSME2 is a potential molecular therapeutic target and that the combined inhibition of PSME2 and STAT3 represents a new treatment option for ESCC.