TMEM176A acts as a tumor suppressor gene in pancreatic cancer by inhibiting ERK signaling.

Background Pancreatic cancer is the 7th leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Aberrant expressions of transmembrane 176A (TMEM176A) were found in multiple cancer types. However, the expression and function of TMEM176A remain unclear in pancreatic cancer. Materials and methods Immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, western blot, and transwell were applied on investigating samples from pancreatic cancer patients and pancreatic cancer cell lines. Results Analysis based on the TCGA database showed that a high level of TMEM176A was associated with a better relapse-free survival rate (P = 0.012). Further, the results of tissue microarray showed patients with a high level of TMEM176A were associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.045) and a better overall survival rate (P = 0.032). Overexpression of TMEM176A in Capan-1 and PANC-1 cells suppressed cell proliferation, cell invasion, and migration, and induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. TMEM176A suppressed ERK signaling in pancreatic cancer. Conclusion TMEM176A suppresses the growth and migration of pancreatic cancer cells by inhibiting ERK signaling.