Functional characterization of the tumor suppressor CMTM8 and its association with prognosis in bladder cancer.

Previous research revealed that CMTM8 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in variety cancers. However, the role of CMTM8 in bladder cancer has never been reported. In this study, the expression profile of CMTM8 was examined in bladder cancer tissues and bladder cancer cell lines. The effects of CMTM8 on bladder cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were examined. Bladder tumor tissues from 84 cases were examined for CMTM8 expression by immunohistochemistry. Disease-specific survival was investigated using a Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazards analysis was assessed. Our results showed that upregulation of CMTM8 in the T24 cell line could suppress T24 cells proliferation, migration and invasion and enhance the sensitivity to Epirubicin. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the expression of CMTM8 was correlated with the survival time of bladder cancer patients. Altogether, our data suggested that CMTM8 is an important tumor suppressor gene in human bladder cancer and qualified as a useful prognostic indicator for patients with bladder cancer.