ARRB2 promotes cervical cancer progression via stabilizing CDC25A mRNA through m6A-IGF2BP1-dependent manner.

Cervical cancer causes many deaths among women worldwide. Exploring the mechanisms underlying proliferation and metastasis contributes to developing novel intervention strategies. Here, we found that ARRB2 was highly expressed, and its increased expression was associated with poor prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. Knockdown of ARRB2 repressed the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, CDC25A was upregulated, and ARRB2 stabilized CDC25A mRNA through IGF2BP1. CDC25A silencing inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, but it was reversed by ARRB2 overexpression. Silencing of CDC25A suppressed EMT signaling via promoting FOXO3 phosphorylation and cytoplasmic localization and inhibiting Snail1 transcription. Knockdown of ARRB2 suppressed tumor growth and metastasis through CDC25A downregulation. In conclusion, ARRB2 promotes FOXO3 nuclear translocation and Snail1 transcription by stabilizing CDC25A mRNA in an m6A-dependent manner, thus facilitating proliferation and metastasis in cervical cancer.