Upstream transcription factor 1 prompts malignancies of cervical cancer primarily by transcriptionally activating p65 expression

Cervical cancer is the third-most common cause of female cancer-related mortality worldwide. In cervical cancer, aberrant activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling is widely reported. However, the transcriptional regulation of NF-κB signaling remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism in which NF-κB signaling was activated in cervical cancer cells. Initially, the expression of p65 was demonstrated to be markedly enhanced in grade II, III or IV cervical cancer tissues compared with that of normal cervical tissues, indicating that p65 expression was correlated with tumor grade. In HeLa and CaSki cells, overexpression of p65 markedly enhanced cervical cancer cell invasion and migration. Further experiments demonstrated that p65 overexpression significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of protein kinase B (AKT) and p38. Dual luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that USF1 was able to bind the promoter region of p65, thereby enhancing the transcriptional activation of p65. Notably, when p65 was silenced, the phosphorylation levels of AKT and p38 were suppressed even in cells transfected with adenovirus vectors expressing upstream transcription factor 1 (USF1). These data indicated that USF1 prompted cervical cancer progression primarily by transcriptionally activating p65. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that USF1 was able to activate the transcription of p65, thereby enhancing the malignancy of cervical cancer cells.