SQLE Knockdown inhibits bladder cancer progression by regulating the PTEN/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway through P53

Bladder cancer (BCa) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. However, the lack of accurate and effective targeted drugs has become a major problem in current clinical treatment of BCa. Studies have demonstrated that squalene epoxidase (SQLE), as a key rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, is involved in cancer development. In this study, our analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas, The Genotype-Tissue Expression, and Gene Expression Omnibus databases showed that SQLE expression was significantly higher in cancer tissues than it was in adjacent normal tissues, and BCa tissues with a high SQLE expression displayed a poor prognosis. We then confirmed this result in qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining experiments, and our vitro studies demonstrated that SQLE knockdown inhibited tumor cell proliferation and metastasis through the PTEN/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway. By means of rescue experiments, we proved that that P53 is a key molecule in SQLE-mediated regulation of the PTEN/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway. Simultaneously, we verified the above findings through a tumorigenesis experiment in nude mice. In conclusion, our study shows that SQLE promotes BCa growth through the P53/PTEN/AKT/GSK3β axis, which may serve as a therapeutic biological target for BCa. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-023-02997-5.