Knockdown of NUPR1 inhibits the proliferation of U87 cells in vivo and vitro

Nuclear protein-1 (NUPR1), also called p8 or Com1, plays an important role in the growth and migration of human malignant tumour cells as a stress response factor. However, the role of NUPR1 in glioma is poorly understood. In this study, quantitative real-time PCR and western blot were used to confirm knockdown efficiency of U87 cells infected with lentiviral vector, Wound-healing, MTT, BrdU assay and tumorigenesis in nude mice were used to analysis migration and proliferation of U87 cells. Fluorescence-activated cells sorting (FACS) and western blot were applied to detect mechanism in cell apoptosis function of NUPR1 in U87 cells. We confirmed NUPR1 was up-expressed in glioma tissues compared with normal brain (NB) tissues. Down-regulation of NUPR1 suppressed cell migration and proliferation, and promoted cell apoptosis in U87 cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the expression levels of phosphorylated Erk1/2 (P-Erk1/2) and phosphorylated p38 (P-p38) MAPK were decreased by lowering NUPR1 expression in U87 cells. In conclusion, NUPR1 play an important role in the growth and migration of U87 cells. Knockdown of NUPR1 could suppress U87 cells growth by inducing cell apoptosis via decreasing expression of P-Erk1/2 and P-p38.