The Role of Forkhead Box Q1 Transcription Factor in Ovarian Epithelial Carcinomas

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Min Gao¹  Ie-Ming Shih² 

[1] Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, 107 W. Wenhua Road, Jinan 250012, China; E-Mail:;Departments of Pathology, Gynecology/Obstetrics, and Oncology, Program in Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: ovarian cancer;    FOXQ1;    survival;    migration;    invasion;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms131113881

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The role of the forkhead box Q1 (FOXQ1) transcription factor in cancer pathogenesis has recently emerged. Overexpression of FOXQ1 has been found in a variety of human cancers, and its upregulation has been associated with poor prognosis in colorectal, breast, and non-small cell lung carcinomas. However, the molecular mechanism underlying how FOXQ1 contributes to ovarian epithelial carcinomas remains unclear. To this end, we analyzed gene expression levels in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines and demonstrated a higher expression level of FOXQ1 in epithelial ovarian cancer cells than that in normal epithelial cells. We then used a human ovarian cancer cell line, SKOV3, which expressed a higher level of FOXQ1, as a cell model to investigate the biological effects of FOXQ1 by using RNA interference. Silencing of FOXQ1 expression using a shRNA knockdown approach affected the expression of several cell cycle regulators, leading to suppressed cell proliferation, reduced cell motility/invasion, and upregulation of epithelial cell markers and the downregulation of mesenchymal cell markers. Taken together, these results suggest that FOXQ1 expression is essential to maintain cell proliferation, motility/invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotypes in ovarian cancer cells.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.