Abstract
Tripartite motif-containing 67 (TRIM67), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, belongs to the TRIM protein family. The relationship between TRIM67 and tumorigenesis is not fully clear. Here, we elucidated TRIM67 function in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). TRIM67 immunostaining results were correlated with clinicopathological features. Moreover, the function of TRIM67 in cultured NSCLC cells was evaluated by MTT, colony formation, and Transwell assays. TRIM67 expression was associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, p-TNM stage, cancer cell differentiation, and poor prognosis. We altered TRIM67 expression in A549 and H1299 cell lines, and the results showed that TRIM67 promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT by positively regulating the Notch pathway. Collectively, the results showed that TRIM67 promotes NSCLC progression through the Notch pathway and that TRIM67 expression is associated with clinicopathological features, indicating that TRIM67 may play an important role in promoting the development of NSCLC and could be applied as not only an important prognostic biomarker but also a therapeutic target in NSCLC.