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Li S, Luo X, Sun M, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Jiang J, Hu D, Zhang J, Wu Z, Wang Y, Huang W, Xia L. Context-dependent T-BOX transcription factor family: from biology to targeted therapy. Cell Commun Signal 2024; 22:350. [PMID: 38965548 PMCID: PMC11225425 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-024-01719-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
T-BOX factors belong to an evolutionarily conserved family of transcription factors. T-BOX factors not only play key roles in growth and development but are also involved in immunity, cancer initiation, and progression. Moreover, the same T-BOX molecule exhibits different or even opposite effects in various developmental processes and tumor microenvironments. Understanding the multiple roles of context-dependent T-BOX factors in malignancies is vital for uncovering the potential of T-BOX-targeted cancer therapy. We summarize the physiological roles of T-BOX factors in different developmental processes and their pathological roles observed when their expression is dysregulated. We also discuss their regulatory roles in tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and the newly arising questions that remain unresolved. This review will help in systematically and comprehensively understanding the vital role of the T-BOX transcription factor family in tumor physiology, pathology, and immunity. The intention is to provide valuable information to support the development of T-BOX-targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siwen Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Xiangyuan Luo
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Mengyu Sun
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Yijun Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Zerui Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Junqing Jiang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Dian Hu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Jiaqian Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Zhangfan Wu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Yufei Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China
| | - Wenjie Huang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China.
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Hepatic Surgery Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Clinical Medicine Research Center for Hepatic Surgery of Hubei Province, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Health, Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, China.
| | - Limin Xia
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430030, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
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Cen H, Luo H, Luo B, Fan P, Zhang Y, Zhang Y. TBX1 regulates myogenic differentiation by activating the TGFβ-Smad2/3 pathway in myoblasts. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2023; 248:61-69. [PMID: 36036218 PMCID: PMC9989151 DOI: 10.1177/15353702221112087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
TBX1 is systematically conserved in the T-box transcription factor family and regulates craniofacial muscle development during various stages of myogenesis, including commitment, proliferation, terminal differentiation, and survival. However, the role and mechanism by which TBX1 regulates the myogenic development of myoblasts remains unclear. In our study, we overexpressed TBX1 in mouse C2C12 myoblasts using a lentivirus method. We found that TBX1 inhibited cell proliferation and muscle differentiation, which had no effect on apoptosis. During myogenic differentiation, we also found that TBX1 overexpressing cells regulate myogenic differentiation by upregulating the expression levels of Smad2 and Smad3 and downregulating the expression level of MEF2C. After treatment with a specific inhibitor of Smad3 (SIS3), the myogenic differentiation of wild-type and TBX1 overexpressing cells increased. Thus, TBX1 may regulate myoblast muscle differentiation by enhancing the expression of Smad2 and Smad3. TBX1 may be a therapeutic target for muscular dystrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haimei Cen
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Hong Luo
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Bin Luo
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Pin Fan
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Yusheng Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
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T-box transcription factor 19 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis through upregulating EGFR and RAC1. Oncogene 2022; 41:2225-2238. [PMID: 35217793 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-022-02249-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The effect of targeted therapy for metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unsatisfactory. Exploring the underlying mechanism of HCC metastasis is favorable to provide new therapeutic strategies. T-box (TBX) transcription factor family genes, which are crucial regulators in embryo and organ development, are vital for regulating tumor initiation, growth and metastasis. Here we explored the role of TBX19 in HCC metastasis, which is one of the most upregulated TBX family genes in human HCC tissues. TBX19 expression was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues and elevated TBX19 expression predicted poor prognosis. Overexpression of TBX19 enhanced HCC metastasis through upregulating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Rac family small GTPase 1 (RAC1) expression. Downregulation of EGFR and RAC1 inhibited TBX19-mediated HCC metastasis, while upregulation of EGFR and RAC1 restored inhibition of HCC metastasis mediated by TBX19 knockdown. Furthermore, epidermal growth factor (EGF)/EGFR signaling upregulated TBX19 expression via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/nuclear factor (NF)-kB axis. Besides, the combined application of EGFR inhibitor Erlotinib and RAC1 inhibitor NSC23766 markedly inhibited TBX19-mediated HCC metastasis. In HCC cohorts, TBX19 expression was positively associated with EGFR and RAC1 expression. Patients with positive coexpression of TBX19/EGFR or TBX19/RAC1 displayed the poorest prognosis. In conclusion, EGF/EGFR signaling upregulated TBX19 expression via ERK/NF-kB pathway and TBX19 fostered HCC metastasis by enhancing EGFR and RAC1 expression, which formed an EGF-TBX19-EGFR positive feedback loop. Targeting this signaling pathway may offer a potential therapeutic strategy to efficiently restrain TBX19-mediated HCC metastasis.
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Huang S, Shu X, Ping J, Wu J, Wang J, Shidal C, Guo X, Bauer JA, Long J, Shu XO, Zheng W, Cai Q. TBX1 functions as a putative oncogene of breast cancer through promoting cell cycle progression. Carcinogenesis 2022; 43:12-20. [PMID: 34919666 PMCID: PMC8832409 DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgab111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We have previously identified a genetic variant, rs34331122 in the 22q11.21 locus, as being associated with breast cancer risk in a genome-wide association study. This novel variant is located in the intronic region of the T-box transcription factor 1 (TBX1) gene. Cis-expression quantitative trait loci analysis showed that expression of TBX1 was regulated by the rs34331122 variant. In the current study, we investigated biological functions and potential molecular mechanisms of TBX1 in breast cancer. We found that TBX1 expression was significantly higher in breast cancer tumor tissues than adjacent normal breast tissues and increased with tumor stage (P < 0.05). We further knocked-down TBX1 gene expression in three breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and T47D, using small interfering RNAs and examined consequential changes on cell oncogenicity and gene expression. TBX1 knock-down significantly inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion. RNA sequencing and flow cytometry analysis revealed that TBX1 knock-down in breast cancer cells induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase through disrupting expression of genes involved in the cell cycle pathway. Furthermore, survival analysis using the online Kaplan-Meier Plotter suggested that higher TBX1 expression was associated with worse outcomes in breast cancer patients, especially for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, with HRs (95% CIs) for overall survival (OS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) of 1.5 (1.05-2.15) and 1.55 (1.10-2.18), respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that the TBX1 gene may act as a putative oncogene of breast cancer through regulating expressions of cell cycle-related genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuya Huang
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, P. R. China
| | - Xiang Shu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jie Ping
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Jie Wu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Jifeng Wang
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Chris Shidal
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Xingyi Guo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Joshua A Bauer
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Jirong Long
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Xiao-Ou Shu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Wei Zheng
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Qiuyin Cai
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
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Niu G, Hao J, Sheng S, Wen F. Role of T-box genes in cancer, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and cancer stem cells. J Cell Biochem 2021; 123:215-230. [PMID: 34897787 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.30188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Sharing a common DNA binding motif called T-box, transcription factor T-box gene family controls embryonic development and is also involved in cancer progression and metastasis. Cancer metastasis shows therapy resistance and involves complex processes. Among them, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) triggers cancer cell invasiveness and the acquisition of stemness of cancer cells, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs are a small fraction of tumor bulk and are capable of self-renewal and tumorsphere formation. Recent progress has highlighted the critical roles of T-box genes in cancer progression, EMT, and CSC function, and such regulatory functions of T-box genes have emerged as potential therapeutic candidates for cancer. Herein we summarize the current understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of T-box genes in cancer, EMT, and CSCs, and discuss the implications of targeting T-box genes as anticancer therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gengle Niu
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jin Hao
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Surui Sheng
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Fangyuan Wen
- Department of Outpatient, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,Chinese Academy of Sciences Sichuan Translational Medicine Research Hospital, Chengdu, China
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