N-WASP promotes invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells through regulating p38 MAPKs signaling pathway.

Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) is an important member of the WASP family involved in the actin cytoskeleton reorganization. Recent evidence suggests that N-WASP may play important roles in tumor progression and metastasis. However, the contribution of N-WASP to cervical cancer is still unknown. The present study focused on elucidating the role of N-WASP in the malignant behavior of cervical cancer cells. We found that N-WASP overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues compared with paired paracancerous tissues and normal tissues, and similar results were observed in several cervical cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we demonstrated that overexpression of N-WASP facilitated migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells, while downregulation of N-WASP resulted in decreased cell migration and invasion. In addition, the data showed that N-WASP might promote invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells via regulating the activity of p38 MAPKs pathway. Altogether, the study suggested that N-WASP might serve as an oncogene in cervical cancer, and provided novel insights into the mechanism that how N-WASP promoted invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells.