Cofilin-2 Acts as a Marker for Predicting Radiotherapy Response and Is a Potential Therapeutic Target in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether cofilin-2 could serve as a protein marker for predicting radiotherapy response and as a potential therapeutic target in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIAL/METHODS: Cofilin-2 protein levels in serum and tissue samples from patients with NPC were assessed by sandwich ELISA and IHC. In vitro, cofilin-2 levels in CNE-2R cells were significantly higher than those of CNE-2 cells. Meanwhile, CNE-2R cells were silenced for cofilin-2 to obtain a stable cofilin-2-RNAi-LV3 cell line. Then, cell proliferation, radiosensitivity, invasion and migration abilities, cell cycle, and apoptosis were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit 8 assay (CCK-8), flow cytometry (FCM), clone formation assay, and in vitro. RESULTS: The secreted levels of the cofilin-2 protein in radioresistant NPC patients were significantly higher than those of radiosensitive cases. After cofilin-2 knockdown in nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2R cells, proliferation was decreased, while apoptosis and radiosensitivity were enhanced; cell cycle distribution was altered, and the transplanted tumors in nude mice grew significantly less. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our findings suggest that cofilin-2 acts as a marker for predicting radiotherapy response and is a potential therapeutic target in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.