Open Access

ARTICLE

SENEX gene promotes cell proliferation by activating RB/E2F pathway in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells

JIYU WANG^#, YING PAN^#, YANG WAN, ZHIXIANG WANYAN, ZHITAO WANG, QIANSHAN TAO, ZHIMIN ZHAI^*

Department of Hematology, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, China

* Address correspondence to: Zhimin Zhai,
# These two authors contributed equally to this study

BIOCELL 2021, 45(4), 933-942. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2021.014280

Received 15 September 2020; Accepted 18 January 2021; Issue published 22 April 2021

Abstract

The present study aimed to clarify the role of SENEX in malignant cell proliferation in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). 22 DLBCL patients (6 newly diagnosed cases, 7 cases at complete remission, and 9 relapsed cases) were included in the study. Our results indicated that both SENEX gene and protein were significantly increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and tumor cells of relapsed DLBCL patients, accompanied by overexpression of p21, p16, and phosphorylated retinoblastoma (Rb). Silencing the SENEX gene in a DLBCL cell line caused a significant decrease in cell proliferation and inhibited cell cycle progression in the G1 phase. Phosphorylated Rb and E2F1 were also decreased, and activation of the Rb/E2F1 pathway was obviously suppressed. To conclude, the SENEX gene promotes proliferation in PBMC and tumor cells of DLBCL patients by activating the Rb/E2F1 pathway, in a manner suggesting that increased SENEX expression affects the relapse of DLBCL and may serve as an important target for DLBCL therapy.

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Keywords

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