Cancers
Rab23 Drives Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Invasion via ERK-Mediated Autophagy Activation
By Jiaqiang Wu, Ziye Feng, Chunyu Xie and 1 others.
Abstract
Background
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most prevalent non-melanoma skin cancer worldwide, with increasing incidence and considerable mortality following metastasis. Ras-associated binding protein 23 (Rab23) has been implicated in cSCC progression, but its molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood.
Methods
Rab23, Beclin1, and LC3-II protein expression was compared across human cSCC, actinic keratosis, and normal skin tissues. Rab23-dependent changes in autophagy-related markers, autophagic vacuoles, migration, invasion, and wound healing were investigated in oral SCC-derived Sa3 cells and cSCC models A431 and HSC-5. GTP dependence, responses to rapamycin and chloroquine, and AKT/mTOR and MEK/ERK1/2 signaling were assessed, including MEK1/2 inhibition with U0126. Public transcriptomic and spatial transcriptomic datasets were also analyzed.