title: Unraveling the role of FOXQ1 in colorectal cancer metastasis.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings reveal FOXQ1 as a modulator of TWIST1-mediated metastatic phenotypes and support its potential as a biomarker of metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Surgery, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg and, Molecular Oncology of Solid Tumors Unit, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, D-68135, Mannheim, Germany. heike.allgayer@umm.de.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abba
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.forename: Kabeer
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rasheed
authors.forename: Laura D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Giridhar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mudduluru
authors.forename: Jörg Hendrik
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Leupold
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Allgayer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D061985:Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C484579:FOXQ1 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C103173:TWIST1 protein, human; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1