Proliferation and invasion of ovarian cancer cells are suppressed by knockdown of TRIM11

Tripartite motif-containing (TRIM)11, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is involved in the development of the nervous system. As an oncogene, it has also been identified in glioma, lung and colon cancer. However, few studies have been conducted on TRIM11 expression and functions in ovarian cancer. In the present study, we found that TRIM11 expression was obviously elevated in ovarian cancer tissues compared to adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Depletion of TRIM11 in A2780 and SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cells by transfection of specific small interfering RNA significantly suppressed proliferation and inhibited invasion of cells, even induced apoptosis as indicated by both Cell Counting Kit-8, Annexin V/propidium iodide staining and Transwell assay. Furthermore, we explored the underlying mechanisms. Knockdown of TRIM11 not only affects the expression of cell apoptosis-related (Bcl-2 and Bax) and invasion-related proteins [matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9], but also reduced the phosphorylation levels of ERK and AKT. In conclusion, we showed that TRIM11 was upregulated in ovarian cancer tissue samples and that TRIM11 may serve as an oncogene in ovarian cancer.