Epigenetic Regulation of Elf5 Is Associated with Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Urothelial Cancer

Sun, Guang and Wu, Boxian and Cao, Xiaoming and Liang, Xuezhi and Zhang, Xuhui and Zhang, Weizhen and Wang, Dong (2015) Epigenetic Regulation of Elf5 Is Associated with Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Urothelial Cancer. PLoS ONE, 10 (1). ISSN 1932-6203

[English] PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (3MB)

Abstract

E74-like factor 5 (Elf5) has been associated with tumor suppression in breast cancer. However, its role in urothelial cancer (UC) is completely unknown. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and methylation specific PCR (MSP) were done to detect Elf5 expression level and its promoter methylation. Results revealed that low expression of Elf5 on protein and mRNA levels were associated with tumor progression, early relapse and poor survival. In vitro, down-regulation of Elf5 can increase epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Aberrant Elf5 methylation was identified as major mechanism for Elf5 gene silence. Accordingly, restoration of Elf5 by infection or demethylating treatment effectively reversed EMT processes. In conclusion, we identified Elf5 as a novel biomarker of UC on several biological levels and established a causative link between Elf5 and EMT in UC.

Actions (login required)

View Item