Silencing of OTUB1 inhibits migration of human glioma cells in vitro

OTU domain-containing ubiquitin aldehyde-binding protein 1 (OTUB1) protein, a deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) which belongs to the ovarian tumor (OTU) family, was reported to be associated with the development of various malignancies. However, the potential function of OTUB1 in human gliomas was still unclear. In this study, we sought to investigate the function of OTUB1 in the pathological process of gliomas and analyze its related clinical significance. Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses demonstrated that OTUB1 was overexpressed in glioma tissues, and statistical analysis suggested the expression level of OTUB1 was significantly correlated with the WHO grades of human gliomas (P < 0.05). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier curve also indicated that high expression of OTUB1 was correlated with a poor prognosis. In vitro, silencing OTUB1 retarded the migration ability of glioma cells. Knockdown of OTUB1 increases epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related protein E-cadherin expression, but decreases simultaneously the expression of vimentin and snail. Furthermore, down-regulated expression of OTUB1 also resulted in decreased expression of some extracellular matrix degradation-related proteins, such as matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) 2 and MMP9. All results suggested that OTUB1 was a valuable marker in the pathogenesis of human gliomas and could be used as a novel biomarker for glioma therapy in the future.