ELF5 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells by regulating CD24.

E74-like factor five (ELF5) is a basic transcription factor that plays a key role in breast tissue and gland development. However, the molecular mechanism of ELF5 in breast cancer cells has not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effect of ELF5 on the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D and confirmed that ELF5 can inhibit cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In further research, the relationship between ELF5 and CD24 was characterized in breast cancer cells. We found that CD24 was a target gene of ELF5 through chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) -Sequence assays, and proved that ELF5 could bind to the ETS cis-element on the proximal promoter of the CD24 gene and regulate the expression of CD24. Moreover, overexpression of ELF5 in MCF-7 cells significantly increased both the mRNA and protein levels of CD24, while knockdown of CD24 expression restored cell proliferation, migration and invasion through adaptive ELF5 expression in MCF-7 cells. Therefore, these data suggest that ELF5 inhibits migration and invasion of breast cancer cells by regulating CD24 expression, which make provides a molecular mechanism for ELF5 to inhibit breast cancer from a new perspective and provides further theoretical support for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer.