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Activin A receptor type 1C (ALK7) and its ligand nodal growth differentiation factor (NODAL) serve numerous roles in cancer cells, including regulating cancer invasion, migration and apoptosis. NODAL promotes breast cancer cell apoptosis by activating ALK7; however, ALK7 and NODAL expression in endometrial cancer (EC), as well as their effects and underlying mechanisms in EC cells, are not completely understood. The present study aimed to characterize the expression of NODAL and ALK7 in EC, as well as the underlying mechanisms. The expression levels of ALK7 and NODAL were detected via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. Cell transfection was performed to overexpress NODAL or interfere ALK7. Cell proliferation, invasion and migration were detected via Cell Counting Kit-8, Transwell and wound healing assays, respectively. Flow cytometry was performed to detect cell apoptosis and western blotting was conducted to detect the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins. NODAL and ALK7 expression levels were significantly decreased in EC cell lines compared with normal endometrial cells. NODAL overexpression inhibited EC cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and promoted EC cell apoptosis compared with the overexpression-negative control (Ov-NC) group. Moreover, NODAL overexpression significantly increased ALK7 expression levels in EC cells compared with the Ov-NC group. ALK7 reversed NODAL overexpression-mediated inhibition of EC cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and promotion of EC cell apoptosis. The present study indicated that NODAL inhibited EC cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and promoted EC cell apoptosis by activating ALK7.

Background To explore the diagnostic value of FAM19A4 methylation in high-risk human papilloma virus (hrHPV)-positive cervical samples from Chinese women for estimating cervical cancer or its precancerous lesions. Methods Cervical samples from 215 women infected with high-risk HPV were collected by smear testing. We purposely chose 61 patients with cervical cancer, 57 with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), 31 with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), and 66 without cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) after histological confirmation. Taqman probe-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) was utilized to detect the methylation status of FAM19A4 in the cervical samples and further evaluate the use of this gene in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. Results (1) An increasing level of FAM19A4 methylation was detected with increasing progression of cervical lesions, with methylation rates of 10.61%(7/66), 35.48%(11/31), 56.14%(32/57) and 93.44%(57/61) in no CIN, LSIL, HSIL and cervical carcinoma samples respectively. (2) In all hrHPV-positive samples, the levels of FAM19A4 methylation in HPV16/18 groups were higher than that in 12 other hrHPV groups (P 0.05). (3)There were no significant differences of FAM19A4 methylation in different clinicopathological parameters of cervical cancer. (4) Though the sensitivity of FAM19A4 methylation test was inferior to that of cytology and FAM19A4 combining with HPV16/18 genotyping, but showed the best specificity with 81.44% both for detection HSIL alone and ≥ HSIL, with favorable youden index (YI) and area under curve (AUC). Conclusion FAM19A4 is a specific biomarker of cancerous lesions of the cervix. FAM19A4 methylation analysis may serve as an auxiliary screening method for diagnosis of cervical (pre)cancer. However, in consideration of the limitations of this retrospective study, prospective population-based studies are necessary for further confirmation of the diagnostic value of FAM19A4 methylation for detection of cervical (pre)cancer in Chinese women. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4877-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.