MSANTD3 is a novel high expressed gene in HNSCC metastasis and interferes with cell migration

Abstract Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common cancer in the world. This study proposed MSANTD3 as a prognostic biomarker for HNSCC and a regulator for cancer cell migration. Methods We analyzed the expression and survival association of MSANTD3 in HNSCC using open data. We compared the expression of MSANTD3 in tumors from primary and metastasis HNSCC tissues using QPCR and western blotting. We determined the migration velocity of multiple HNSCC cell lines using a chemotaxis migration assay. We analyzed the correlation between MSANTD3 expression and HNSCC cell migration. We also test the effect of MSANTD3 knockdown and overexpression on HNSCC cell migration. Results MSANTD3 was overexpressed in HNSCC than normal head and neck tissues and metastasis HNSCC than primary HNSCC. MSANTD3 expression was associated with significantly poorer overall survival of HNSCC patients. MSANTD3 level was correlated with the migration velocity in HNSCC cell lines. Knockdown of MSANTD3 reduced the migration and the overexpression of MSANTD3 promoted the migration of HNSCC cell line YD-15 and BICR-56. Conclusion 1) MSANTD3 is higher expressed in HNSCC than normal tissue and in metastatic than primary tumor; 2) cells with high MSANTD3 presented higher migration velocity; 3) the overexpression and knockdown of MSANTD3 interfered on cell migration.