Elevated expression of UBE2T exhibits oncogenic properties in human prostate cancer

// Mingxin Wen 1 , Yongwon Kwon 2 , Yongsheng Wang 1 , Jian-Hua Mao 2 , Guangwei Wei 1 1 Department of Human Anatomy and Key Laboratory of Experimental Teratology, Ministry of Education, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, 250012 P.R. China 2 Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94127, USA Correspondence to: Guangwei Wei, e-mail: gwwei@yahoo.com Jian-Hua Mao, e-mail: JHMao@lbl.gov Keywords: UBE2T, prostate cancer, metastasis, vimentin Received: May 07, 2015 Accepted: July 17, 2015 Published: July 30, 2015 ABSTRACT Increased expression of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2T (UBE2T) is reported in human prostate cancer. However, whether UBE2T plays any functional role in prostate cancer development remains unknown. We here report the first functional characterization of UBE2T in prostate carcinogenesis. Prostate cancer tissue array analysis confirmed upregulation of UBE2T in prostate cancer, especially these with distant metastasis. Moreover, higher level of UBE2T expression is associated with poorer prognosis of prostate cancer patients. Ectopic expression of UBE2T significantly promotes prostate cancer cell proliferation, motility and invasion, while UBE2T depletion by shRNA significantly inhibits these abilities of prostate cancer cells. Xenograft mouse model studies showed that overexpression of UBE2T promotes whereas UBE2T depletion inhibits tumor formation and metastasis significantly. Collectively, we identify critical roles of UBE2T in prostate cancer development and progression. These findings may serve as a framework for future investigations designed to more comprehensive determination of UBE2T as a potential therapeutic target.