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Zhao Z, Yang W, Kong R, Zhang Y, Li L, Song Z, Chen H, Luo Y, Zhang T, Cheng C, Li G, Liu D, Geng X, Chen H, Wang Y, Pan S, Hu J, Sun B. circEIF3I facilitates the recruitment of SMAD3 to early endosomes to promote TGF-β signalling pathway-mediated activation of MMPs in pancreatic cancer. Mol Cancer 2023; 22:152. [PMID: 37689715 PMCID: PMC10492306 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01847-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Among digestive tract tumours, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) shows the highest mortality trend. Moreover, although PDAC metastasis remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, the biological mechanism is poorly understood. Recent evidence demonstrates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in PDAC progression. METHODS Differentially expressed circRNAs in normal and PDAC tissues were screened via bioinformatics analysis. Sanger sequencing, RNase R and actinomycin D assays were performed to confirm the loop structure of circEIF3I. In vitro and in vivo functional experiments were conducted to assess the role of circEIF3I in PDAC. MS2-tagged RNA affinity purification, mass spectrometry, RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA pull-down assay, fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence and RNA-protein interaction simulation and analysis were performed to identify circEIF3I-interacting proteins. The effects of circEIF3I on the interactions of SMAD3 with TGFβRI or AP2A1 were measured through co-immunoprecipitation and western blotting. RESULTS A microarray data analysis showed that circEIF3I was highly expressed in PDAC cells and correlated with TNM stage and poor prognosis. Functional experiments in vitro and in vivo revealed that circEIF3I accelerated PDAC cells migration, invasion and metastasis by increasing MMPs expression and activity. Mechanistic research indicated that circEIF3I binds to the MH2 domain of SMAD3 and increases SMAD3 phosphorylation by strengthening the interactions between SMAD3 and TGFβRI on early endosomes. Moreover, AP2A1 binds with circEIF3I directly and promotes circEIF3I-bound SMAD3 recruitment to TGFβRI on early endosomes. Finally, we found that circEif3i exerts biological functions in mice similar to those of circEIF3I in humans PDAC. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals that circEIF3I promotes pancreatic cancer progression. circEIF3I is a molecular scaffold that interacts with SMAD3 and AP2A1 to form a ternary complex, that facilitates the recruitment of SMAD3 to early endosomes and then activates the TGF-β signalling pathway. Hence, circEIF3I is a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongjie Zhao
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Wenbo Yang
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Rui Kong
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Yangyang Zhang
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Le Li
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Zengfu Song
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, HarbinHeilongjiang, 150001, China
| | - Hongze Chen
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Yan Luo
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreaticosplenic Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Chundong Cheng
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Guanqun Li
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Danxi Liu
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Xinglong Geng
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Hua Chen
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Yongwei Wang
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Shangha Pan
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Jisheng Hu
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
| | - Bei Sun
- Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
- Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
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