hMAGEA2 Promotes Cell Growth and Tumorigenicity in Melanoma
Abstract Background: Melanoma is one of the most malignant skin cancers, and its incidence continues to rise worldwide, especially in fair-skinned populations. A clinical challenge with melanoma is that it has no unique or specific clinical presentation. The clinical presentation of melanoma varies with the anatomic localization, type of growth, and histopathology. Proteins belonging to the melanoma-associated antigen (MAGEA) gene family are typically expressed in germline cells but differentially expressed in a variety of human cancers, particularly melanoma. Melanoma-associated antigen 2 (MAGEA2) is such a protein. In this study, we investigated whether the expression of human MAGEA2 (hMAGEA2) is associated with melanoma. Methods: SK-MEL-5 and SK-MEL-28 cell lines were used to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the progression and invasiveness of melanoma. A melanoma human tissue array was used to examine the correlation between the progression of melanoma and expression of hMAGEA2Results: hMAGEA2 is overexpressed in human melanoma tissues, including metastatic tissues. In SK-MEL-5 and SK-MEL-28 cells, overexpression of hMAGEA2 increased cellular proliferation and colony formation, whereas hMAEGA2 knockdown suppressed cellular proliferation, colony formation, and migration. Conclusion: These results show that the hMAGEA2 protein plays a role in the growth and invasiveness of melanoma cells, and it is correlated with melanoma metastasis. Therefore, hMAGEA2 contributes to the progression of melanoma and may be a diagnostic and novel therapeutic target for the treatment of melanoma metastasis patients.