BACKGROUND: ZEB1, a member of the ZFH family of proteins (zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox), plays a central role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated the expression of ZEB1 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical effects with underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Expression levels of ZEB1 were assessed by Western blot in 5 HCC cell lines and in paired cancerous and noncancerous tissues from 110 patients with HCC. Short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) interference for ZEB1 was performed in MHCC-97H cell line. RESULTS: ZEB1 protein was detected at a relatively high level in metastatic human HCC cell lines (MHCC-97L and MHCC-97H) when compared with that in nonmetastatic HCC cell lines (Hep3B, PLC and Huh-7). ZEB1 was expressed at high levels in 72 of 110 HCC patients (65.4%) and correlated with advanced TNM stage, tumor size >5 cm, intrahepatic metastasis, vascular invasion, and frequent early recurrence. The results of multivariate analysis revealed that ZEB1 high expression was a significant prognostic factor for poor overall and disease-free survivals. Silencing ZEB1 resulted in significant suppression of motility of MHCC-97H cell line, which was accompanied with increased expression of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreased expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin. Furthermore, silencing ZEB1 prevented the spread of intrahepatic metastasis and increased overall survival in mouse orthotopic tumor models. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that ZEB1 high expression was correlated with HCC malignant progression and subsequent poor patient survival by induction of EMT changes.
BACKGROUND:ZEB1, a member of the ZFH family of proteins (zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox), plays a central role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated the expression of ZEB1 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical effects with underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Expression levels of ZEB1 were assessed by Western blot in 5 HCC cell lines and in paired cancerous and noncancerous tissues from 110 patients with HCC. Short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) interference for ZEB1 was performed in MHCC-97H cell line. RESULTS:ZEB1 protein was detected at a relatively high level in metastatic human HCC cell lines (MHCC-97L and MHCC-97H) when compared with that in nonmetastatic HCC cell lines (Hep3B, PLC and Huh-7). ZEB1 was expressed at high levels in 72 of 110 HCC patients (65.4%) and correlated with advanced TNM stage, tumor size >5 cm, intrahepatic metastasis, vascular invasion, and frequent early recurrence. The results of multivariate analysis revealed that ZEB1 high expression was a significant prognostic factor for poor overall and disease-free survivals. Silencing ZEB1 resulted in significant suppression of motility of MHCC-97H cell line, which was accompanied with increased expression of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreased expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin. Furthermore, silencing ZEB1 prevented the spread of intrahepatic metastasis and increased overall survival in mouse orthotopic tumor models. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that ZEB1 high expression was correlated with HCC malignant progression and subsequent poor patient survival by induction of EMT changes.
Authors: Y M Yang; W H Lee; C G Lee; J An; E-S Kim; S H Kim; S-K Lee; C H Lee; D N Dhanasekaran; A Moon; S Hwang; S J Lee; J-W Park; K M Kim; S G Kim Journal: Oncogene Date: 2014-07-28 Impact factor: 9.867
Authors: Baolei Wu; Delin Lei; Lei Wang; Xinjie Yang; Sen Jia; Zihui Yang; Chun Shan; Xi Yang; Chenping Zhang; Bin Lu Journal: Am J Cancer Res Date: 2016-06-01 Impact factor: 6.166
Authors: Ester Sánchez-Tilló; Yongqing Liu; Oriol de Barrios; Laura Siles; Lucia Fanlo; Miriam Cuatrecasas; Douglas S Darling; Douglas C Dean; Antoni Castells; Antonio Postigo Journal: Cell Mol Life Sci Date: 2012-09-04 Impact factor: 9.261