Abstract
Zinc finger protein 143 (ZNF143) belongs to the zinc finger protein family and possesses transcription factor activity by binding sequence-specific DNA. The exact biological role of ZNF143 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been investigated. Here we report that ZNF143 is overexpressed in HCC tissues and its overexpression correlates with poor prognosis. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that ZNF143 promoted HCC cell proliferation, colony formation, and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. ZNF143 accelerated HCC cell-cycle progression by activating cell division cycle 6 (CDC6). Mechanistically, ZNF143 promoted expression of CDC6 by directly activating transcription of histone demethylase mineral dust-induced gene (MDIG), which in turn reduced H3K9me3 enrichment in the CDC6 promoter region. Consistently, ZNF143 expression correlated significantly with MDIG and CDC6 expression in HCC. Collectively, we propose a model for a ZNF143-MDIG-CDC6 oncoprotein axis that provides novel insight into ZNF143, which may serve as a therapeutic target in HCC. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings describe the mechanism by which ZNF143 promotes HCC proliferation and provide important clues for exploring new targets and strategies for clinical treatment of human liver cancer.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cause of death worldwide, and the molecular mechanism of uncontrolled HCC progression remains unclear [1]
Our data showed that Zinc finger protein 143 (ZNF143) promotes HCC cell proliferation, colony formation, tumor growth, and cell-cycle transition
We found that cell division cycle 6 (CDC6) plays a role in cell proliferation of HCC
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cause of death worldwide, and the molecular mechanism of uncontrolled HCC progression remains unclear [1]. Accumulating evidence has suggested that dysregulation of the cell cycle is one of the most important hallmarks of HCC [2]. Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis and molecular biology of dysregulated cell cycle in HCC is fundamental for the development of effective therapeutic treatments. Zinc finger protein 143 (ZNF143) can be activated by IGF1 and is a transcription factor of the C2H2 family. This protein contains a transcription activation domain, 7 Kruppel-like C2H2 zinc finger motif domain, and a C-terminal domain [4, 5]. ZNF143 is involved in cisplatin resistance by regulating the transcription of DNA repair
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