Elevated expression of IL-18 (<i>P </i><<i> </i>0.01) and E-cadherin (<i>P </i>=<i> </i>0.034) was associated with tumor differentiation, whereas expression of TNKS2 (<i>P </i><<i> </i>0.01), β-catenin (<i>P</i> = 0.012), and N-cadherin (<i>P</i> < 0.01) was associated with tumor de-differentiation.
Individual or combined knockdown of TNKS1 and TNKS2 with siRNAs or shRNAs reduced lung cancer cell growth, stabilized axin, and repressed tumor formation in murine xenograft and syngeneic lung cancer models.
Conversely, TANK2 and POT1 transcription levels demonstrate a compelling trend to be lower in malignant tissues and lower still in those patients who develop recurrent disease suggesting that TANK2 and POT1 may act as tumour suppressor genes possibly by negatively regulating telomerase activity.