94234

FOXQ1

forkhead box Q1;FOXQ1;forkhead box Q1

HFH-1|HNF-3/forkhead-like protein 1|forkhead box protein Q1|hepatocyte nuclear factor 3 forkhead homolog 1|winged helix/forkhead transcription factor

6p25

protein-coding

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) promotes cancer invasion and metastasis, but the integrative mechanisms that coordinate these processes are incompletely understood. In this study, we used a cross-species expression profiling strategy in metastatic cell lines of human and mouse origin to identify 22 up-regulated and 12 down-regulated genes that are part of an essential genetic program in metastasis. In particular, we identified a novel function in metastasis that was not previously known for the transcription factor Forkhead Box Q1 (Foxq1). Ectopic expression of Foxq1 increased cell migration and invasion in vitro, enhanced the lung metastatic capabilities of mammary epithelial cells in vivo, and triggered a marked EMT. In contrast, Foxq1 knockdown elicited converse effects on these phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. Neither ectopic expression nor knockdown of Foxq1 significantly affected cell proliferation or colony formation in vitro. Notably, Foxq1 repressed expression of the core EMT regulator E-cadherin by binding to the E-box in its promoter region. Further mechanistic investigation revealed that Foxq1 expression is regulated by TGF-beta1, and that Foxq1 knockdown blocked TGF-beta1-induced EMT at both morphological and molecular levels. Our findings highlight the feasibility of cross-species expression profiling as a strategy to identify metastasis-related genes, and they reveal that EMT induction is a likely mechanism underlying a novel metastasis-promoting function of Foxq1 defined here in breast cancer.

Malignant cell transformation, invasion, and metastasis are dependent on the coordinated rewiring of gene expression. A major component in the scaffold of these reprogramming events is one in which epithelial cells lose intercellular connections and polarity to adopt a more motile mesenchymal phenotype, which is largely supported by a robust transcriptional machinery consisting mostly of developmental transcription factors. This study demonstrates that the winged helix transcription factor, FOXQ1, contributes to this rewiring process, in part by directly modulating the transcription of TWIST1, itself a key mediator of metastasis that transcriptionally regulates the expression of important molecules involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Forced expression and RNA-mediated silencing of FOXQ1 led to enhanced and suppressed mRNA and protein levels of TWIST1, respectively. Mechanistically, FOXQ1 enhanced the reporter activity of TWIST1 and directly interacted with its promoter. Furthermore, enhanced expression of FOXQ1 resulted in increased migration and invasion in colorectal cancer cell lines, whereas knockdown studies showed the opposite effect. Moreover, using the in vivo chicken chorioallantoic membrane metastasis assay model, FOXQ1 significantly enhanced distant metastasis with minimal effects on tumor growth. IMPLICATIONS: These findings reveal FOXQ1 as a modulator of TWIST1-mediated metastatic phenotypes and support its potential as a biomarker of metastasis.

Forkhead box Q1 (FoxQ1) is a master regulator of tumor metastasis. However, the molecular mechanism of FoxQ1 in regulating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis remains unknown. Here we report a novel function for FoxQ1 in modifying the tumor microenvironment to promote HCC metastasis. FoxQ1 expression was an independent and significant risk factor for the recurrence and survival in two independent cohorts totaling 1,002 HCC patients. FoxQ1 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through the transactivation of ZEB2 expression by directly binding to the ZEB2 promoter. Knockdown of ZEB2 decreased FoxQ1-enhanced HCC metastasis, whereas up-regulation of ZEB2 rescued the decreased metastasis induced by FoxQ1 knocking down. Additionally, serial deletion, site-directed mutagenesis, and a chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that VersicanV1, which promoted HCC metastasis and macrophage attraction, was a direct transcriptional target of FoxQ1. FoxQ1-induced VersicanV1 expression promoted the secretion of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) from HCC cells. Chemotaxis assay showed that the culture media from FoxQ1-overexpressing HCC cells increased the migratory activity of the macrophages. Inhibition of VersicanV1 and CCL2 expression significantly inhibited FoxQ1-mediated macrophage migration. In animal studies, the up-regulation of FoxQ1 in HCC cells promoted HCC metastasis and intratumoral tumor associated macrophage (TAM) infiltration, whereas knockdown of VersicanV1 reduced FoxQ1-mediated HCC metastasis and intratumoral TAM infiltration. Depletion of macrophages using clodronate liposomes dramatically decreased FoxQ1-enhanced HCC metastasis. In human HCC tissues, FoxQ1 expression was positively correlated with ZEB2 and VersicanV1 expression and intratumoral TAM infiltration. Patients with positive coexpression of FoxQ1 and ZEB2, FoxQ1, and VersicanV1, or FoxQ1 and intratumoral TAMs were associated with poorer prognosis. CONCLUSION: FoxQ1 promotes HCC metastasis by transactivating ZEB2 and VersicanV1 expression, resulting in the induction of EMT and the recruitment of macrophage infiltration.