Abstract
Early B cell factor 1 (EBF1) has been identified as an upstream transcription factor of the potential oncogene PNO1 and is involved in the growth of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. However, its expression, biological function, and underlying mechanism of action in most solid tumors remain largely unknown. We postulated that EBF1 has a role in the pathophysiology of CRC. Analysis of EBF1 mRNA expression in CRC tumor samples from several public databases and directly from banked tissues revealed that EBF1 mRNA expression is lower in CRC tissue compared to non-cancerous colorectal tissue. Survival analysis of multiple datasets revealed that low EBF1 expression was correlated with shorter overall survival, relapse-free survival, and event-free survival in CRC patients. Transduction of lentivirus encoding full length EBF1 followed by in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that EBF1 over-expression in CRC cell lines suppresses cell growth by inhibiting cell viability, cell survival, and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Mechanistic investigation indicated that EBF1 over-expression down-regulates PNO1 mRNA and protein expression, as well as transcriptional activity while up-regulating the expression of p53 and p21 proteins. These findings suggest that EBF1 is a novel potential tumor suppressor in CRC with prognostic value for the identification of patients at high-risk of relapse.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers with high morbidity and mortality worldwide [1,2,3,4]
Consistent with our previous results [26], we found that Early B cell factor 1 (EBF1) mRNA levels were lower in colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to non-cancerous tissues (Figure 1A)
These results suggest that EBF1 may act as a tumor suppressor in CRC
Summary
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers with high morbidity and mortality worldwide [1,2,3,4]. Despite the combination of current treatments for CRC including resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, patient mortality remains high [5, 6]. Due to the essential role of EBF1 during B cell development, loss of EBF1 [16, 17] or an increase of one of its inhibitors [ZNF521 [18] or ZNF423 [19]] supports the development of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). EBF1 regulates DNA repair in a dose-dependent manner by direct effects on RAD51, and combined loss of EBF1 and Pax predisposes patients to leukemia development [20, 21]. These findings suggest a potential tumor suppressor role for EBF1 in leukemia
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