Fig. 7: Overexpression of INTS13 enhances malignant phenotypes in cervical cancer cells.

The primary pCCa-1 cervical cancer cells were engineered to stably overexpress INTS13 using a lentiviral construct (oeINTS13). Two independently derived stable cell selections, oeINTS13-Slc1 and oeINTS13-Slc2, were assessed for elevated INTS13 mRNA transcript levels and unaffected INTS10 mRNA expression compared to vector control (Vec) cells (A). Western blot analysis confirmed increased INTS13 protein levels in both oeINTS13-Slc1 and oeINTS13-Slc2 cells, with INTS10 protein expression tested as a control (B). Cells were further cultivated for designated time, cellular viably and proliferation were assessed through CCK-8 (C) and nuclear EdU incorporation (D) assays, respectively. Furthermore, the migratory (E) and invasive (F) capabilities were tested. The experiments expanded to other primary cervical cancer cell types (pCCa-2, pCCa-3) and the established HeLa cell line, utilizing the same lentiviral INTS13 overexpression construct (oeINTS13). INTS13 (G) and INTS10 mRNA transcripts (H) were assessed in these cells following overexpression. Cells were further cultivated for designated hours, the augmentation of proliferation (I) and migratory ability (J) in pCCa-2, pCCa-3, and HeLa cells upon INTS13 overexpression was assessed via nuclear EdU incorporation and Transwell assays, respectively. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) with n = 5 biological replicates. Asterisks (*) indicate statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) compared to the Vec group. “n.s.” denotes no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). The experiments were independently replicated five times with consistent results. Scale bar represents 100 μm.