TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) promotes the development of human lung cancer through bridging RAS and NF-kB pathways; on the other hand, thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) suppresses the growth of tumors.
The expression of TRAF6 was determined in human lung adenocarcinoma A549, non-small cell lung cancer H1650, human airway epithelial Calu-3 and human lung cancer SPC-A1 cell lines using quantitative RT-PCR (qRT‑PCR) and western blotting at the transcriptional and translational levels.
Our findings show that TRAF6 is an oncogene that is important for RAS-mediated oncogenesis and provide a mechanistic explanation for the previously apparent importance of constitutive NF-κB activation in RAS-driven lung cancers.