MARCH8 is associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancers patients

// Jiye Fan 1, 2 , Liying Tian 2 , Manli Li 1 , Shu-Hong Huang 3 , Jing Zhang 2 and Baohua Zhao 1 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, PR China 2 Department of Pharmacy, Hebei Chemical and Pharmaceutical College, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050026, PR China 3 Department of Neurobiology, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, PR China Correspondence to: Baohua Zhao, email: 13102889211@163.com Keywords: MARCH8; ubiquitin ligase; NSCLC; proliferation; apoptosis Received: May 02, 2017      Accepted: November 03, 2017      Published: November 21, 2017 ABSTRACT MARCH8 belongs to a family of membrane-associated RING-CH (MARCH) ubiquitin ligases. The functions of MARCH8 have been thoroughly investigated but its mechanism of action remains unknown. In this study, we detected the expression of MARCH8 protein in NSCLC samples and identified MARCH8 mRNA expression through a TCGA database. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between MARCH8 and the clinical characteristics of NSCLC patients and their prognosis.( www.kmplot.com ). The roles of MARCH8 in proliferation, migration, and metastasis were further explored through ectopic expression analysis and western blot analysis; its mechanism of expressionwas also explored. We discovered that MARCH8 was downregulated in NSCLC tissues compared to adjacent normal lung tissues. Overexpression of MARCH8 inhibited NSCLC cell proliferation and metastasis via the PI3K and mTOR signaling pathways; this also increased apoptosis of A549 and H1299 cells. Our results indicated that MARCH8 plays crucial roles in NSCLC against carcinogenesis and progression; therefore, MARCH8 might be a predictive factor and an attractive therapeutic target for NSCLC patients.