title: Knockdown of ZFX suppresses renal carcinoma cell growth and induces apoptosis.
abstract: The ZFX (zinc finger protein, X-linked) gene located on the human X chromosome controls the self-renewal of embryonic and hematopoietic stem cells as a transcriptional regulator. Recently, studies have affirmed that ZFX is associated with several human cancers, including lymphoma, laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, and liver cancer, which suggests ZFX as a potential therapeutic target in cancer. However, the functional role of ZFX in human renal cancer remains unclear. Herein, we detected the expression of ZFX in 42 patients with renal cancer and found the expression of ZFX was specifically upregulated in cancer tissues at the mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, we employed lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to knock down ZFX expression in two human renal cell carcinoma cell lines, 786-0 and ACHN. Functional analysis indicated that ZFX silencing significantly inhibited renal cell carcinoma cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, probably because of suppression of CDK4 and cyclin D1, and induced apoptosis via activation of Bax, Caspase 3, and PUMA in a p53-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that knockdown of ZFX by shRNA may be a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of renal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Urology Institute of the People's Liberation Army, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Wei-hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Urology Institute of the People's Liberation Army, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Urology Institute of the People's Liberation Army, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zhan-song
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Urology Institute of the People's Liberation Army, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-weng
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Urology Institute of the People's Liberation Army, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: Jinhongdr@163.com.
authors.forename: Jin-hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C062076:zinc finger protein, X-linked
keywords: ZFX; apoptosis; growth; renal carcinoma; short hairpin RNA