USP44 hypermethylation promotes cell proliferation and metastasis in breast cancer

Abstract

Aim: The methylation and expression levels of USP44 in breast cancer were investigated and their effects on tumor cells were researched. Materials & methods: Bioinformatics was employed to identify the target gene from TCGA database. Sodium bisulfite and decitabine were used for DNA modification and demethylation, and methylation-specific PCR and reverse transcriptase PCR were performed to assess USP44 methylation and expression levels. Tumor cell behaviors were assayed via several in vitro experiments. Results: USP44 was hypermethylated, which caused its poor expression in breast cancer, whereas its overexpression significantly suppressed cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induced apoptosis. Conclusion: USP44 negatively functions in cancer progression upon overexpression, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target for clinical treatment of breast cancer.