MST1 suppresses viability and promotes apoptosis of glioma cells via upregulating SIRT6 expression.

It has been well established that mammalian sterile 20-like 1 (MST1) functions as a suppressor via regulating cell progression in many tumors. However, the molecular mechanism of MST1 on regulating glioma progression remains unclear. Here, we discovered that MST1 was robustly down-regulated in glioma tissues and cells. Functional analysis showed that over-expression of MST1 downregulated viability and colony formation and promoted apoptosis of glioma cells. Our results also identified that MST1 positively regulated expression of SIRT6 (Sirtuin 6) via transcriptional factor FOXO3a (Forkhead box O3a). Furthermore, the functional role of MST1 in glioma cell viability (or apoptosis) were significantly reversed after knocking down of SIRT6. Our research indicates that MST1 is a potential biomarker for the prognosis and diagnosis of glioma and provides new direction on the molecular mechanism of glioma progression and development. ©2019 Zhu et al. Published by IMR press. All rights reserved.