Objective To investigate the role of lncRNA PTENP1 in regulating TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods Eca109 and TE-1 cells were treated with TGF-β1, and the expression of PTENP1 was detected by qRT-PCR before and after treatment. PTENP1-overexpressing stably transfected cell lines were constructed in Eca109 and TE-1 cells. The effects of overexpression of PTENP1 on TGF-β1-induced migration, proliferation and EMT-related proteins expression in Eca109 and TE-1 cells were detected by Transwell assay, CCK-8 test and Western blot, respectively.

Results The expression of PTENP1 was significantly decreased in Eca109 and TE-1 cells treated with TGF-β1 (P < 0.05). Overexpression of PTENP1 significantly prevented cell migration, decreased the cell vitality, upregulated the E-cadherin expression, and downregulated the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin in Eca109 and TE-1 cells (P < 0.05). Furthermore, PTENP1 overexpression attenuated TGF-β-induced migration of Eca109 and TE-1 cells. PTENP1 overexpression partially reversed TGF-β-induced EMT (P < 0.05).

Conclusion PTENP1 plays an important role in TGF-β-induced EMT in ESCC cells.