Expression of the CLCA4 Gene in Esophageal Carcinoma and Its Impact on the Biologic Function of Esophageal Carcinoma Cells

BACKGROUND: Esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) is one of the malignant tumors with a high mortality rate worldwide, which seriously affects people's health. Calcium-activated chloride channel 4 (CLCA4) was reported to be a tumor inhibitor in hepatocellular carcinoma. Nevertheless, the role of CLCA4 in ESCA is still unclear. METHODS: RT-qPCR and western blot assay were used to test the expression pattern of CLCA4 in ESCA tissues and cells. CCK-8 assay was performed to detect the effect of CLCA4 overexpression on cell proliferation in ESCA cells. Transwell assay was used to measure the effect of CLCA4 upregulation on migration and invasion abilities of ESCA cells. Animal experiments were conducted to investigate the role of CLCA4 upregulation in tumor growth in vivo. RESULTS: CLCA4 was significantly reduced in ESCA tissues and correlated with T stage, differentiation, and lymph node metastasis. CLCA4 overexpression was found to inhibit cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT progression in ESCA cells. Moreover, CLCA4 overexpression suppressed tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: CLCA4 was suggested to act as a tumor inhibitor in ESCA and might be a therapeutic target gene for the treatment of patients with ESCA.