14-3-3ζ up-regulates hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in hepatocellular carcinoma via activation of PI3K/Akt/NF-кB signal transduction pathway.

14-3-3ζ protein, a member of 14-3-3 family, plays important roles in multiple cellular processes. Our previous study showed that 14-3-3ζ could bind to regulate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), which is induced by hypoxia and a crucial factor for induction of tumor metastasis. Moreover, we also have confirmed the response of 14-3-3ζ to hypoxia in our unpublished data as well. Thus, in the present study, we attempted to reveal that whether the regulation effect of 14-3-3ζ on HIF-1α functioned in a similar pattern as hypoxia. Stable regulation of 14-3-3ζ in human HCC cell line SMMC-772 and HCC-LM3 was achieved. The regulation of 14-3-3ζ on HIF-1α mRNA transcription was evaluated by luciferase activity assay and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The effect of 14-3-3ζ on the production of HIF-1α and pathways determining HIF-1α's response to hypoxia was assessed using western blotting assay. Our results showed that regulation of 14-3-3ζ expression influenced the activity of HIF-1α, phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K), Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-кB). Blocking of these pathways using indicated inhibitors revealed that 14-3-3ζ enhanced the production of HIF-1α via the activation of PI3K/Akt/NF-кB pathway, which was identical to hypoxia induced HIF-1α expression. For the first time, our study described the key role of 14-3-3ζ in the HIF-1α production in HCC cells. And the molecule exerted its function on HIF-1α both by directly binding to it and via PI3K/Akt/NF-кB signal transduction pathway.