Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM1) is essential for progression of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma in an Osteopontin/NF-κB-dependent manner.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the expression levels of IFITM1 in human tissue samples and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cells, and to explore the potential mechanisms of IFITM1 in LSCC progression. METHODS: Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical (IHC) assays were performed to detect IFITM1 expression in 62 LSCC tissues and corresponding normal tissues. We further detected the effects of IFITM1 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of LSCC cells and NF-κB signaling pathway through colony formation assay, wound healing assay and transwell assay, respectively. RESULTS: We demonstrated the possible involvement of IFITM1 in the progression of LSCC. We found the upregulated expression of IFITM1 in human LSCC tissues and cells, and analyzed the correlations between IFITM1 expression and osteopontin. Our data further confirmed that IFITM1 affected cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of LSCC cells via the regulation of NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: We investigated the potential involvement of IFITM1 in the progression of LSCC, and therefore confirmed that IFITM1 was a potential therapeutic target for LSCC.