High level of KMT5C is associated to better prognosis and its knockdown increases proliferation in head and neck cancer.

AIM: The Histone methyl transferase KMT5C/SUV4-20H2 has been described as a promising marker in several types of cancer. We investigated the impact of KMT5C knockdown on cell proliferation capacity as well as its association with clinic pathological features in HNSC patients. METHODS: The relative level of KMT5C was measured by quantitative real-time PCR in HNSC lineages with high and low levels of SET/I2PP2A protein, and the cell proliferation capacity was evaluated after the knockdown of KMT5C. Furthermore, statistical tests were used to verify the association of KMT5C levels and pathological features in HNSC patients. RESULTS: The knockdown of KMT5C decreased the levels of H4K20me2 and miR-137 while upregulating SET/I2PP2A, KI67, p-Rb, and PCNA proteins. The cell proliferation capacity of the HNSC lineage was also increased after the knockdown of KMT5C. Furthermore, the higher KMT5C level is associated with better survival, while a lower KMT5C level is associated with perineural invasion in HNSC patients. CONCLUSION: KMT5C levels regulate targets involved in cell proliferation and represent a potential biomarker for predicting survival and perineural invasion in HNSC.