Affiliation:
1. Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi China
2. Department of General Surgery The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi China
3. Department of General Surgery Weifang People's Hospital Weifang Shandong China
4. Department of Oncology The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi China
Abstract
AbstractObjectiveNon‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a deadly form of cancer that exhibits extensive intercellular communication which contributed to chemoradiotherapy resistance. Recent evidence suggests that arrange of key proteins are involved in lung cancer progression, including gap junction proteins (GJPs).Methods and ResultsIn this study, we examined the expression patterns of GJPs in NSCLC, uncovering that both gap junction protein, beta 2 (GJB2) and gap junction protein, beta 2 (GJB3) are increased in LUAD and LUSC. We observed a correlation between the upregulation of GJB2, GJB3 in clinical samples and a worse prognosis in patients with NSCLC. By examining the mechanics, we additionally discovered that nuclear factor erythroid‐2‐related factor 1 (NFE2L1) had the capability to enhance the expression of connexin26 and connexin 31 in the NSCLC cell line A549. In addition, the use of metformin was discovered to cause significant downregulation of gap junction protein, betas (GJBs) by limiting the presence of NFE2L1 in the cytoplasm.ConclusionThis emphasizes the potential of targeting GJBs as a viable treatment approach for NSCLC patients receiving metformin.