The Knockdown of <scp>ACTL6A</scp> Enhances the Radiosensitivity of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Modulating the Wnt/β‐Catenin Signaling Pathway

Actin-like protein 6A (ACTL6A) is thought to be associated with the survival and prognosis of patients with a variety of human cancers. This study investigates the effect of ACTL6A knockdown on ESCC radiosensitivity and explores molecular mechanisms that may enhance radiotherapy efficacy. The ACTL6A expression level was increased in esophageal squamous carcinoma cells after radiation irradiation. The protein expression level of ACTL6A in tumor tissue samples of clinical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and it was found that the prognosis of the high expression group was worse than that of the low expression group. Further knocking down the ACTL6A gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells, it was found that ACTL6A could regulate the proliferation, migration, invasion, DNA damage repair, cell cycle, and apoptosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells, which further affected the radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells. Through functional enrichment analysis of gene set enrichment and validation of the mechanism using the Wnt pathway inhibitor XAV939, it was shown that ACTL6A is involved in the regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Knockdown of ACTL6A can inhibit the activity of this pathway, thereby increasing the radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. ACTL6A may become an important therapeutic target for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, providing a necessary theoretical basis for future treatment strategies.