TFAP2A targets PD-L1 and the knockdown of TFAP2A inhibits the progression of cervical cancer. (A) Enrichment of TFAP2A in the PD-L1 promoter region in RNA-Seq Atlas [RNA-Seq Atlas-Database Commons (cncb.ac.cn)]. (B) PD-L1 promoter transient reporter assay, including deletions of the putative binding sites. Results are represented as normalized RLUs. (C and D) Chromatin Immunoprecipitation assay was used to determine the physical interaction of TFAP2A protein with the -PD-L1 promoter region and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to analyze immune complexes. (E) Gross images of excised tumors in the control, Ctrl, sh-TFAP2A groups. (F) Tumor volume and (G) tumor weight. (H) Experimental hypothesis diagram; n=6 in each group. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001. TFAP2A, transcription factor AP-2 alpha; PD-L1, programmed death-ligand 1; RLUs, relative luciferase units; sh-, short hairpin.