SMC4/SMAD3/NF-κB axis drives cervical cancer progression and radioresistance via DNA damage repair and immune modulation - PubMed
3 days ago
- #Radioresistance
- #DNA Damage Repair
- #Cervical Cancer
- SMC4/SMAD3/NF-κB axis identified as a key driver in cervical cancer progression and radioresistance.
- Study integrates four cervical cancer GEO datasets, using machine learning to identify core genes including SMC4, which is linked to poor survival outcomes.
- Functional assays show SMC4 knockdown under ionizing radiation inhibits cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion, and impairs DNA damage repair.
- Mechanistically, SMC4 upregulates SMAD3, activates NF-κB signaling, and promotes PD-L1 expression, suggesting a role in immune modulation.
- Single-cell analysis confirms SMC4's predominant expression in epithelial cells and its association with altered tumor immune context.
- Findings suggest SMC4 as a potential therapeutic target for radiosensitization and a biomarker for patient stratification in cervical cancer.