Role and mechanism of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor in cervical cancer invasion and metastasis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) with cervical cancer invasion and metastasis. METHODS: From January 2021 to December 2022, 45 patients treated for cervical cancer and lung metastases were identified. Western blotting was used to determine the expression of Hippo–YAP signaling pathway-related proteins. Meanwhile, 40 healthy Sprague-Dawley nude mice were used and evenly randomized into two groups, which were injected with LIFR-overexpressing (study group) or normal cervical cancer cells (control group). The lung tissue of nude mice was removed for hematoxylin–eosin staining, and the number of lung cell metastases in nude mice was counted. RESULTS: The highest LIFR mRNA expression was found in paracancerous tissue, followed by cervix cancer tissue and metastatic lesions. The study group exhibited higher LIFR, P-YAP, and P-TAZ protein expression and lower YAP and TAZ protein expression than the control group. The study group had a lower number of lung metastases than the control group. CONCLUSION: Decreased expression of LIFR and decreased phosphorylation of Hippo–YAP signaling pathway-related proteins might be the underlying mechanisms that promote lung metastasis of cervical cancer.