Cell culture
A375 (melanoma cell lines, Procell, CL-0014) was purchased from Procell Life Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Hyderabad, India). A2058 (melanoma cell lines) and HaCat (normal epidermal cell line) cells were gifts from the biological treatment centre of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. All cells were cultured with Dulbecco′s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM, Gibco, c11995500BT; Waltham, MA, USA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, BI, 04-001-1ACS) and 1% penicillin/streptomycin (NCM, C125C5) at 37°C in an incubator with 5% CO2.
Tissue Specimens
Three pairs of Nevi, melanoma and adjacent tissues were obtained from patients at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University and stored at -80°C refrigerator. In addition, 106 cases of paraffin embedded melanoma tissues, 100 cases of paraffin embedded adjacent specimens and 23 cases of paraffin embedded nevi tissues were also obtained from The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. None of the patients were treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy before surgery. This research was approved by the ethics committee of Kunming Medical University.
Western Blotting
After washing three times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, Corning, 21-040-CVC, NY, USA), cell and tissue samples were lysed on ice with cell lysis buffer (Beyotime, P0013, Shanghai, China), which was preadded with 50× protease and phosphatase inhibitor (Beyotime, P1046, Shanghai, China). After 30 min, the samples were centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 10 min at 4°C. The protein concentration was determined with a bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein Assay Kit (Beyotime, P0012, Shanghai, China). Isolated proteins were separated by 8%-12% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes (Bioleader, BSP0161; Seoul, Korea) by electrophoresis at 220 mA for 110 min. Then, the membranes were blocked with 1% (W/V) bovine serum albumin (BSA) or nonfat milk for 2 h at room temperature and incubated overnight at 4°C with the following primary antibodies: WSB2 (Proteintech, 12124-2-AP, 1:100; Rosemont, IL, USA), RBBP5 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, PA5-63522, 1:1000; Shanghai, China), H3K4me3 (Abcam, ab8580, 1:100; Cambridge, UK), P16 (Abcam, ab51243, 1:5000), β-catenin (Abcam, ab32572, 1:5000), c-myc (CST, 13987, 1:1000; Louisville, KY, USA), E-cadherin (CST, 3195, 1:1000), N-cadherin (CST, 13116, 1:1000), MMP-7 (Abcam, ab216631, 1:300) andglyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) (Abcam, ab181602, 1:5000). The membrane was then incubated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated secondary antibodies (SAB, L3012, L3032) at room temperature for 1 h. Membranes were exposed after incubation with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) substrate (Biosharp, BL520B; Hangzhou, China) for 1 min. ImageJ software was used for semiquantitative analysis.
Quantitative Real-timepolymerase Chain Reaction (Qrt-pcr)
Total RNA was separated by TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, 15596026; Shanghai, China). Cell samples were treated with chloroform for 5 min and centrifuged for 15 min at 4°C and 12000 rpm. Then, the upper aqueous phase was collected, and an equal volume of isopropanol was added. The samples were allowed to stand at -20°C for 30 min and centrifuged for 15 min at 12000 rpm at 4°C. Then, the RNA was washed with 75% ethanol, dried at room temperature and dissolved in RNase-free water. RNA reverse transcription was performed to synthesize the first strand of cDNA using a Fast RT Kit (with gDNA) (Tiangen, KR116-02; B eijing, China) according to the manufacturer′s instructions. Then, qRT-PCR was performed using SuperReal PreMix Plus (SYBR Green) (Tiangen, FP205-02) and a 7500 Real-time PCR system (ABI-7500, Applied Biosystems, Waltham, MA, USA). The reaction conditions were as follows: 15 min at 95°C, followed by 40 cycles of 10 s at 95°C and 32 s at 60°C. GAPDH was used as an internal control. The relative expression of the mRNA was calculated by the 2-ΔΔCt method. The primer sequences were as follows: GAPDH: F 5′- TCTCTGCTCCTCCTGTTCGA-3′, R 5′-GCGCCCAATACGACCAAATC-3′, RBBP5: F5′-TTCTTTATGCTGGAGCCGA-3′, R5′- GAAAGAACATCCCACTGTGAC-3′.
Cell Counting Kit-8 (Cck8) Assay
A CCK8 assay was performed to measure cell proliferation ability. A total of 2000 cells were seeded into a 96-well plate and incubated at 37°C and 5% CO2. Then, 100 µl of serum-free medium containing 10 µl CCK8 reagent (APE × Bio, K1018) was added to each well every day. After incubation at 37°C and 5% CO2 for 2 h, the absorbance was measured at 450 nm.
Wound Healing Assay
Cells were seeded into 6-well culture plates at a density of 1 × 106 cells, until they reached 90%. Liner wounds were created using 100 µl of tips, and cells were cultured for 24 h and 48 h in serum-free medium at 37°C and 5% CO2. Images were taken with a 4 × microscope, and the wound healing ability was examined by calculating the wound area.
Migration And Invasion Assays
The invasion/migration ability of the cells was measured in a Boyden chamber (Corning, 3422) with or without Matrigel (Corning, 356234). A total of 1×105 A375 cells and 3×104 A2058 cells were suspended in 200 µl of serum-free medium and added to the upper chamber, and 600 µl of complete medium containing 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) was added to the lower chamber. After incubation for 24 h at 37°C and 5% CO2 incubater, the cells on the top surface of the membrane were removed, and the cells that had migrated or invaded to the lower surface of the membrane were fixed with methyl alcohol for 15 min and stained with 0.2% crystal violet for 30 min. The cells were photographed with a 100-µm microscope, and the number of cells was counted by ImageJ.
Colony Formation Assay
For the colony formation assay, 500 cells were seeded in a 6-well plate, and the medium was changed every 3 days. The study was terminated when colony formation was visible to the naked eye. After washing the cells three times with PBS, the cells were fixed with methyl alcohol for 15 min and stained with 0.2% crystal violet for 30 min. Visible colonies were photographed and counted with ImageJ.
Plasmid Construction, Lentiviral Infection, And Transfection
The lentiviral vector containing small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) and RBBP5 overexpression plasmids were purchased from SyngenTech Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China). A375 and A2058 cells were transfected according to the manufacturer's instructions, and then stable lines that expressed RBBP5 and shRBBP5 (shRBBP5-1 and shRBBP5-2) were screened using puromycin (0.5 µg/µl) for 10 days. The target sequences were as follows: shRBBP5-1 (5′-TGGAGCCGAGATGGTCATAAA-3′) and shRBBP5-2 (5′- TCATTGTACCCAGCGTCATTT-3′). The shWSB2 plasmids were purchased from Genechem Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). The target sequences were as follows: shWSB2-1 forwards: 5′-CTTCGAAGTTTCCTAACAA-3′ and reverse: 5′-GAAGCTTGCCCGGATTGTT-3′; shWSB2-2 sense: forwards 5′-CGGCTTCTTACGATACCAA-3′ and reverse: 5′-GCCGAAGAATGCTATGGTT-3′. The shWSB2 plasmids were verified by Western blotting.
Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (Chip) Assay
ChIP was performed using a Simple ChIP® Enzymatic Chromatin IP Kit (magnetic beads) (CST, 9003) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, cells were seeded into a 15-cm culture dish until the density reached 90%. To cross-link the protein with DNA in, 540 µl 37% formaldehyde was added to each 15-cm dish, which contained 20 ml of medium (making the final concentration of formaldehyde 1%), the dish was rotated and incubated at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then, 2 ml of 10X glycine was added, the dish was slightly vortexed and incubated at room temperature for 5 minutes, washed with 1X PBS two times. Then, 2 mL of frozen 1× PBS + 200× PIC was added, and then the dish was centrifuged at 4°C and 2000 × g for 5 minutes. Next, nuclear preparation and chromatin digestion were performed, and fragmented chromatin was obtained by nuclease and sonication. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed, and sufficient 1× chip buffer was prepared to dilute the digested chromatin. Then, 10 µl rabbit anti-histone H3 (CST, 4620) was added as a technical positive control, 2 µl normal rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) (CST, 2729) was added as a negative control, and 2 µl rabbit antiH3K4me3 antibody (Abcam, ab8580) was added. The immunoprecipitation (IP) samples were rotated and incubated at 4°C overnight. Then, 30 µl of Protein G Magnetic Beads (CST, 9006) was added to each IP reaction, rotated and incubated for 2 hours at 4°C. After reverse cross-linking and DNA purification, immunoprecipitated DNA was quantified by real-time PCR using SimpleChIP® Universal qPCR Master Mix (CST, 88989). with primers for p16 binding sites in the p16 promoter (forwards primer 5′- AGCACTCGCTCACGGCGTC-3′ and reverse primer 5′-CTGTCCCTCAAATCCTCTGGA-3′) and RPL30 (CST, 7014). Fold enrichment was calculated based on the threshold cycle (CT) value of the IgG control using the comparative CT method. Input percentage = 2% × 2 (C[T] 2% input sample - C[T] IP sample) C[T] = CT = threshold period of PCR.
Coimmunoprecipitation (Coip)
Coimmunoprecipitation (CoIP)
After washing three times with PBS, cells and tissue samples were lysed on ice with cell lysis buffer, which was preadded with protease and phosphatase inhibitors. After 30 min, the samples were centrifuged at 4°C and 12000 rpm for 10 min. A total of 100 µl of protein lysate was used as an input control (positive control). Then, 2 µl WSB2 antibody was added to 200 µl protein lysate, 2 µl normal rabbit IgG antibody was added to another 200 µl protein lysate as a negative control, and the sample was rotated and incubated for 24 hours at 4°C. Then, 400 µl phosphate-buffered saline with Tween PBST (1× PBS + 0.5% Tween-20, pH 7.4) was used to wash the Protein A/G Magnetic Beads (MCE, HY-K0202), and the beads were separated by a magnetic rack. The above step was repeated two times. The antigen antibody mixture was added to the pretreated beads and incubated at 4 ℃ for 3 hours to obtain the antigen-antibody-bead mixture. The antigen-antibody-bead mixture was adsorbed with a magnetic rack, and then 5× sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) loading buffer (including the input control) was added and boiled at 95°C for 10 min. Western blotting was used to verify the interaction between proteins.
Xenograft Mouse Model
The animal studies were approved by the animal ethics committee of Kunming Medical University. Six- to eight-week-old female BALB/c nude mice were purchased from SPF Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China) For the preliminary experiment, ten mice were randomly divided into two groups (n = 5 per group), and 2×106 RBBP5 overexpression or vector A375 cells were injected subcutaneously into each mouse. In a follow-up experiment, thirty mice were randomly divided into four groups. The first two groups had ten mice in each group, and 2×106 RBBP5 knockdown or vector A375 cells were injected subcutaneously. The latter two groups had 5 mice in each group, and 2×106 RBBP5 overexpression or vector A375 cells were injected subcutaneously. The volume of the tumour was measured by the equation (L × W2)/2. At the end of the experiment, the tumours were quantified.
Immunohistochemistry (Ihc)
The paraffin-embedded tissue or formalin-fixed xenograft tumour samples were cut into 4-µm-thick sections. Sections were deparaffinized with xylene, rehydrated with ethanol, and then treated with 3% H2O2 for 25 min at room temperature to inhibit the activity of endogenous peroxidase. Sections were blocked with 3% BSA at room temperature for 30 min to block nonspecific binding and then incubated with primary antibodies overnight, and HRP-labelled goat antirabbit IgG was added (Servicebio, GB23303; Woburn, MA, USA). The primary antibodies were as follows: WSB2 (Peproteintech, 12124-2-AP; Rosemont, IL, USA), RBBP5 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, PA5-63522), H3K4me3 (Abcam, ab8580), P16 (Abcam, ab51243), and N-cadherin (CST, 13116). DAB (3,3’-diaminobenaidine) and haematoxylin were used for chromogen and counterstaining. The staining grade and percentage were used to calculate the IHC score. The staining intensity was as follows: 0 = no staining, 1 = weak staining = light yellow, 2 = moderate staining = yellow brown, 3 = strong staining = brown. The percentage of positive staining was as follows: 0 = 0%-5%, 1 = 15%-20%, 2 = 25%-50%, 3 = 50%-75%, 4 = 75%-100%. A store < 3 was defined as low expression, and a store ≥ 3 was defined as high expression.
Flow Cytometry
For the cell cycle assay, 1× 106 cells were seeded into a 6-well plate for 24 h and then harvested and washed twice with PBS. A total of 1 ml of 75% cold ethanol was used to fix the cells, and a Cell Cycle and Apoptosis Analysis Kit (Beyotime, C1052) was used to stain the cells for 30 min in a 37°C dark and warm bath. The cells were run on a FACS Calibur flow cytometer (BD Biosciences, Haryana, India). Data were analysed with FlowJo software.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis of all data was performed with SPSS 20.0 and GraphPad Prism 8.0 software. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). All experiments were performed at least three times. Student’s t-test was used to compare differences between two groups. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare differences among multiple groups. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Significance is presented as *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.