Abstract
TRIM24, originally known as intermediary factor 1-alpha, is involved in the development of several cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the expression level and prognostic value of TRIM24 in cervical cancer. In the present study, we showed that the expression of TRIM24 was markedly upregulated in cervical cancer cell lines and cancerous specimens at both transcriptional and translational levels. TRIM24 expression was analyzed in 147 archived cervical cancer specimens using immunohistochemistry, and the correlation between TRIM24 expression and clinicopathological parameters was evaluated. Statistical analysis suggested that TRIM24 expression was significantly correlated with clinical stage and (P=0.007) and lymphatic metastasis (P=0.001). Patients with higher TRIM24 expression had shorter overall (P=0.005) and recurrence-free (P=0.011) survival time. Moreover, we found that silencing TRIM24 by short hairpin RNAi caused an inhibition of cell migration and invasion. Further study indicated that TRIM24 induced cervical cancer cell migration and invasion was through the NF-κB and AKT signaling pathways. In conclusion, TRIM24 is overexpressed in cervical cancer and regulates malignant cell metastasis, which makes TRIM24 a candidate therapeutic target for cervical cancer.