Jide Wang

HIF-1α Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Metastasis through Direct Regulation of ZEB1 in Colorectal Cancer.

It is well recognized that hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) is involved in cancer metastasis, chemotherapy and poor prognosis. We previously found that deferoxamine, a hypoxia-mimetic agent, induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in colorectal cancer. Therefore, here we explored a new molecular mechanism for HIF-1α contributing to EMT and cancer metastasis through binding to ZEB1. In this study, we showed that overexpression of HIF-1α with adenovirus infection promoted EMT, cell invasion and migration in vitro and in vivo. On a molecular level, HIF-1α directly binding to the proximal promoter of ZEB1 via hypoxia response element (HRE) sites thus increasing the transactivity and expression of ZEB1. In addition, inhibition of ZEB1 was able to abrogate the HIF-1α-induced EMT and cell invasion. HIF-1α expression was highly correlated with the expression of ZEB1 in normal colorectal epithelium, primary and metastatic CRC tissues. Interestingly, both HIF-1α and ZEB1 were positively associated with Vimentin, an important mesenchymal marker of EMT, whereas negatively associated with E-cadherin expression. These findings suggest that HIF-1α enhances EMT and cancer metastasis by binding to ZEB1 promoter in CRC. HIF-1α and ZEB1 are both widely considered as tumor-initiating factors, but our results demonstrate that ZEB1 is a direct downstream of HIF-1α, suggesting a novel molecular mechanism for HIF-1α-inducing EMT and cancer metastasis.

Inhibition of the transcription factor Sp1 suppresses colon cancer stem cell growth and induces apoptosis in vitro and in nude mouse xenografts

The transcription factor specificity protein 1 (Sp1) plays a role in the development and progression of various types of human cancers, while cancer stem cells (CSCs) are important in cancer cell self-renewal, resistance to chemotherapy and metastatic potential. This study investigated the role of Sp1 in colon CSC growth and apoptosis. Colon CSCs were successfully enriched using special culture medium and identified by typical CSC gene expression. In a quiescent state, these CSCs formed spheres with slow proliferation; overexpressed Sp1, CD44, CD166 and CD133 proteins; upregulated mesenchymal markers; and a downregulated epithelial marker were noted. In ex vivo experiments, the Sp1 protein was expressed in 74.8% of colon cancer tissues, whereas it was expressed only in 42.2% of the distant normal colon mucosae. Furthermore, inhibition of SP1 expression using Sp1 siRNA or mithramycin A (MIT) led to marked suppression of CSC growth and induced apoptosis. In addition, the percentage of CD44+/CD166+ cells was significantly downregulated both in vivo and in vitro following Sp1 inhibition. In conclusion, Sp1 suppression attenuated the characteristics of colon CSCs. Thus, Sp1 inhibition may be potentially useful for the future development of a novel therapeutic strategy to control colon cancer.

Deferoxamine enhances cell migration and invasion through promotion of HIF-1α expression and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in colorectal cancer

Deferoxamine (DFX), a metal chelator, has been previously reported to induce hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression. HIF-1α is a common inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in many solid tumors. However, the effect of DFX on cancer metastasis and the related mechanisms are not well established. In the present study, we aimed to ascertain whether DFX enhances EMT and cancer metastasis in colorectal cancer. After confirmation of DFX-inducing HIF-1α expression, we examined the effect of DFX on cell adhesion, migration and invasion abilities and found a positive effect on the above functions. Consequently, cell morphology, cell growth and expression of EMT markers were assessed in cells with or without DFX treatment. We found that cells exposed to DFX were more isolated. They were spindle-shaped and looked similar to fibroblast-like cells, accompanied by increased anchorage-independent growth. DFX-treated cells expressed E-cadherin and plakoglobin at a higher level, and vimentin and N-cadherin at a lower level, when compared with these levels in control cells. Furthermore, the expression of E-cadherin in the cell membrane was markedly decreased in DFX-treated cells. These results suggest that DFX promotes cancer migration and invasion via a process consistent with EMT in colorectal cancer.

KLF8 promotes tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells by transcriptional activation of FHL2

The transcription factor Krüppel-like factor (KLF)8 plays an important role in the formation of several human tumors, including colorectal cancer. We recently identified four-and-a-half LIM protein 2 (FHL2) as a critical inducer of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and invasion. However, the molecular mechanism by which KLF8 affects FHL2-mediated tumor proliferation, EMT and metastasis remains unknown. Here, we showed that KLF8 overexpression promoted EMT and metastatic phenotypes. KLF8 expression was stimulated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Moreover, KLF8 acted as a potential EMT inducer by stimulating vimentin expression and inducing a loss of E-cadherin in stable KLF8-transfected cells. KLF8 overexpression induced a strong increase in FHL2 expression, and a positive correlation between the expression patterns of KLF8 and FHL2 was observed in CRC cells. Promoter reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated that KLF8 directly bound to and activated the human FHL2 gene promoter. However, siRNA-mediated repression of FHL2 in KLF8-overexpressing cells reversed the EMT and the proliferative and metastatic phenotypes. In vivo, KLF8 promoted FHL2-mediated proliferation and metastasis via orthotopic implantation. Taken together, this work identified KLF8-induced FHL2 activation as a novel and critical signaling mechanism underlying human breast/colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis.

Direct regulation of FOXK1 by C-jun promotes proliferation, invasion and metastasis in gastric cancer cells.

Forkhead box (FOX) K1 is a member of the FOX transcription factor superfamily. High FOXK1 expression is associated with several cancers. However, whether FOXK1 expression contributes to gastric cancer (GC) development and progression remains unknown. We analyzed the FOXK1 promoter using the Promo software and found several binding sequence transcription factors, including c-jun. However, the molecular mechanism by which FOXK1 affects the c-jun-mediated malignant phenotype is poorly understood. Here, we found that FOXK1 protein expression was higher in 8/10 (80.0%) fresh cancer tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues. FOXK1 overexpression enhanced the proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells. Moreover, FOXK1 expression was stimulated by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). FOXK1 acted as a potential epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) inducer by stimulating vimentin expression and inducing the loss of E-cadherin in stable FOXK1-transfected cells. The results of promoter reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that c-jun directly binds to and activates the human FOXK1 gene promoter. A positive correlation was observed between the expression patterns of FOXK1 and c-jun in GC cells and tissue. FOXK1 and c-jun expression were correlated with tumor progression and represented significant predictors of overall survival in GC patients. However, the siRNA-mediated repression of c-jun in FOXK1-overexpressing cells reversed EMT, as well as the proliferative and metastatic phenotypes. In vivo, c-jun promoted FOXK1-mediated proliferation and metastasis via orthotopic implantation. The evidence presented here suggests that FOXK1-directed regulation by c-jun promote the development and progression of human GC.

Sp1 upregulates the four and half lim 2 (FHL2) expression in gastrointestinal cancers through transcription regulation.

In this study, our purpose is to clarify the role of specificity protein 1 (Sp1) in transcription activation of the four and half lim 2 (FHL2). pLuc595 which contained −1163nt to −568nt upstream ATG starting codon displayed the highest while pLuc382 (−950nt to −568nt) displayed lowest transcription activities in GI cancer cells. Meanwhile, suppression of Sp1 by siRNA or chemical inhibitor, mithramycin A (MIT) inhibited the promoter activity and FHL2 expression. Bioinformatics analysis showed two putative Sp1 binding elements within pLuc595 while EMSA assay demonstrated that the wild type but not the mutated probe containing the distal element bound to the cell nuclear protein specifically. Mutation of the distal Sp1 binding sequence suppressed the transcription activity of pLuc595. In vivo study showed that both Sp1 and FHL2 were highly expressed by cancer cells but not the normal GI tissues with their expressions being positive correlated. These data identified a functional Sp1 positively regulatory element (−1058nt to −1049nt) within FHL2 promoter, and the positive correlation between Sp1 and FHL2 in expressing pattern and signal mechanism strongly suggested their synergized effect in carcinogenesis and progression of GI cancers.

Sp1 is involved in H2O2-induced PUMA gene expression and apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells

BackgroundReactive oxygen species (ROS) are intricately involved in tumor progression through effects on proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis. But how ROS works is not well understood. In previous study, we found PUMA (p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis) played an important role in oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis. In the present study, we detect the role of PUMA in H2O2-induced apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells and investigate the potential mechanism.Methods and resultsWe showed that H2O2 stimulated the activity of a 493 PUMA promoter reporter gene construct. Suppressing the expression of PUMA abrogated H2O2-induced apoptosis. Deletion of the Sp1-binding sites also decreased the transactivation of PUMA promoter by H2O2. Furthermore, induction of PUMA promoter activity by H2O2 was abrogated by PFT-α (a p53 inhibitor) and Mithramycin A (a Sp1 inhibitor), as compared with PFT-α alone. To determine the effects of Sp1 on PUMA in H2O2-induced apoptosis, procaspase 3, procaspase 9 and procaspase 8 expression was assessed. Mithramycin A and PFT-α also reduced H2O2-induced apoptosis synergistically and abrogated the expression of procaspase 3 and procaspase 9.ConclusionOur findings suggest that PUMA plays a role in H2O2-induced apoptosis, and that Sp1 works together with p53 in the regulation of H2O2-induced PUMA expression and apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. This study provides important regulatory insights in the mechanisms of ROS in colorectal cancer.

Oncogene FOXK1 enhances invasion of colorectal carcinoma by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Transcriptional factor FOXK1 is a member of the FOX family, involved in the cell growth and metabolism. The higher expression of FOXK1 leads to a variety of diseases and may play an important role in the development of various tumors. However, the role of FOXK1 in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. We demonstrated that FOXK1 was overexpressed in 16 types of solid tumor tissues via tissue multi-array (TMA). We found that FOXK1 induced elevated expressions and transactivities of five major oncogenes in CRC. Moreover, the elevated expression of FOXK1 was showed to be correlated with tumor progression and was a significant predictor of overall survival in CRC patients. Furthermore, it was showed that the depletion of FOXK1 expression could inhibit the migratory and invasive abilities of CRC cells. In contrast, ectopic expression of FOXK1 elicited the opposite effects on these phenotypes in vitro. FOXK1 promoted tumor metastasis through EMT program induction. In addition, TGF-β1 induced FOXK1 expression in a time-dependent pattern and the knockdown of FOXK1 inhibited TGF-β1-induced EMT. In vivo, higher expression of FOXK1 promotes CRC cell invasion and metastasis, and induces EMT in CRC as well. Alltogether, it was concluded that the higher expression of FOXK1 could indicate a poor prognosis in CRC patients since that FOXK1 induces EMT and promotes CRC cell invasion in vitro and in vivo.

A novel colon cancer gene therapy using rAAV‑mediated expression of human shRNA-FHL2.

FHL2 (Four and a half LIM-only protein 2) has been identified as an oncogene in colon cancer and suppression of FHL2 induces cell differentiation and tumorigenesis in colon cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to develop a novel and effective approach to knockdown FHL2, which can serve as a promising target of colon cancer therapy. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) was generated bearing with FHL2-shRNA and transfected into LoVo cells. Cell cycle and growth were assessed. The interaction between FHL2 and G0/G1 cell cycle and growth was evaluated by flow cytometry, western blot analysis and WST-1 assay. We showed that suppression of FHL2 by rAAV-shRNA induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibited cell growth. Apoptosis-related proteins and their activity was investigated at the same time. rAAV-FHL2‑shRNA activated intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways and increased cell susceptibility to apoptotic stimuli by 5-FU. Moreover, a xenograft model was established to explore rAAV-FHL2-shRNA with 5-FU mediated tumorigenesis in vivo. A strong anti-tumorigenic effect of rAAV-FHL2-shRNA was shown in nude mice and this antitumor effect was enhanced when combined with 5-FU treatment. These findings implicate FHL2 as a cell cycle and growth modulator and thus inhibit apoptosis in colon cancer cells. rAAV-shRNA-FHL2 may serve as a novel and potent therapeutic or 5-FU co-therapeutic agent for colon cancer.

Overexpression of Srcin1 contributes to the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer

The adaptor protein Srcin1 is a novel Src-binding protein that regulates Src activation through C-terminal Src kinase (Csk). Srcin1 behaves as a tumour suppressor in breast cancer, but the role of Srcin1 in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. In the present study, Srcin1 expression in normal tissue was examined by tissue microarray and assessed by immunohistochemistry in 10 patients. In addition, the biological impact of Srcin1 knockdown on CRC cells was investigated in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that Srcin1 was expressed in different types of normal human tissues, whereas its expression was increased in human CRC tissues. Srcin1 expression also correlated with tumour progression. The suppression of Srcin1 induced cell differentiation and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, Srcin1 increased cell growth as well as the capacity of migration and invasion in CRC cells. Srcin1 induced the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway. Moreover, Srcin1 suppression sensitized cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Together, these results demonstrate that Srcin1 contributes to CRC carcinogenesis, invasion and metastasis. These findings provide a rationale for a mechanistic approach to CRC treatment based on the development of Srcin1-targeted therapies.