Decreased carbonyl reductase 1 expression promotes tumor growth via epithelial mesenchymal transition in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract Purpose Carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1) is involved in cancer progression. Recently, the authors reported that the loss of CBR1 expression is associated with a poor prognosis in uterine cervical cancer. Here, we investigated whether the decreased CBR1 expression promotes cancer progression by inducing the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods Antisense constructs of CBR1 complementary DNA (antisense clones) and the empty vectors (control clones) were transfected into human uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (SKG II and SiHa) and the proliferation and EMT marker expression of these clones were analyzed in vitro. In an in vivo study, 107 cells of the antisense and control clones were subcutaneously injected into nude mice and the tumorigenesis was observed for 8 weeks. Results With the decreased CBR1 expression, the proliferation of the antisense clones increased, accompanied by a decrease in epithelial markers (E‐cadherin and cytokeratin) and an increase in mesenchymal markers (fibronectin, alpha‐smooth muscle actin, and N‐cadherin), which suggests EMT induction. In the in vivo study, the tumor volume in the antisense group was significantly larger than that in the control group. Conclusion Decreased CBR1 expression promotes tumor growth by inducing EMT in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinomas