Chitinase 3-like 1 induces cancer cell migration in solitary fibrous tumors

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal tumor that is diagnosed through the detection of the NAB2-STAT6 fusion gene. SFT rarely progresses to malignant tumors; however, metastasis is exhibited in approximately 20% of patients with SFT. In this study, we found that chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1), which induces cancer cell migration, was upregulated in NIH-3T3 cells that were transfected with the NAB2-STAT6 fusion gene. Moreover, the expression levels of the migration markers MMP2 and MMP9 were increased and the p-Akt level was also upregulated. In addition, it was observed that when CHI3L1 siRNA was transfected into NAB2-STAT6-transfected cells, cell migration and proliferation were reduced. Therefore, this study demonstrated that CHI3L1 activates Akt signaling to induce cell migration. •NAB2-STAT6 fusion promotes chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) expression in NIH-3T3 cells.•CHI3L1 overexpression induces Akt signaling and NIH-3T3 cell migration.•CHI3L1 knockdown inhibits proliferation in NAB2-STAT6-transfected cells.