Ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14) promotes proliferation and metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Previous studies have shown aberrant expression of ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14) in multiple malignancies, suggesting an important role of USP14 in tumorigenesis. However, the functional role of USP14 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has never been elucidated. In this study, we found that USP14 was remarkably upregulated in PDAC tissues compared with normal pancreatic tissues. Notably, Kaplan-Meier curves showed that high expression of USP14 predicted significantly worse prognosis in PDAC patients than low expression of USP14. To determine whether USP14 could regulate the proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis of PDAC cells, we knocked down endogenous USP14 or overexpressed exogenous USP14 in Panc-1 and BxPC-3 cells. Using MTT assays, colony formation analyses, flow cytometry assays, and cell invasion and migration assays, we found that knockdown of USP14 attenuated proliferation, induced apoptosis and restrained invasion and migration of PDAC cells. Overexpression of USP14 could enhance proliferation, prevent apoptosis and promote invasion and migration of PDAC cells. In addition, USP14 could regulate the expression of cyclin D1, PCNA and E-cadherin, three important carcinogenic factors, in PDAC cells. These findings suggest that USP14 might play an important role in promoting the tumorigenesis of PDAC and thus be a promising therapeutic target to prevent PDAC progression.