Silencing of RNFT2 suppresses cell proliferation and migration through mTORC1 signaling pathway in gastric cancer

Excellent biomarkers for predicting survival or therapeutic targets are still lacking in gastric cancer (GC), which is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Ring finger protein, transmembrane 2 (RNFT2), which has been reported to be involved in proteolytic process, but how it functions in tumors is rarely investigated. In the present study, we explored the biological property of RNFT2 in GC, we found that RNFT2 was significantly upregulated in GC, and could serve as a tumor marker to predict prognosis. A series of in vitro cell function experiments were performed, we found that knockdown of RNFT2 expression in GC cells could inhibit cell invasion, migration and proliferation. Besides, in vivo experiments also showed that silencing RNFT2 expression in gastric cancer cells significantly reduced tumor size. Furthermore, through gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and immunoblotting studies, we observed that RNFT2 might influence the proliferation, invasion and migration of GC cells through the mTORC1 signaling pathway. In summary, our results clarified the carcinogenic role of RNFT2 in GC progression, provided inspiration to further understand the molecular mechanism of GC and made RNFT2 as a potential target for GC diagnosis and therapy.