GSE184679
The transcription factor FEZF1, a direct target of EWSR1-FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma cells, regulates the expression of neural-specific genes
Transcriptomic analysis of the well-characterized Ewing sarcoma cell line A673 indicated that one of the genes more strongly upregulated by EWSR1-FLI1 was FEZF1 (FEZ family zinc finger protein 1), a transcriptional repressor involved in brain development and neural cell identity. FEZF1 was highly expressed in Ewing sarcoma cells but not in other bone tumors such as osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma. FEZF1 promoter contains a large GGAA-microsatellite and the number of GGAA repeats correlated positively with FEZF1 expression levels in Ewing sarcoma cell lines. To characterize the functional role of FEZF1 in Ewing sarcoma we analyzed the effect of FEZF1 knockdown in three Ewing sarcoma cell lines (A673, SKNMC, SKES1). FEZF1 knockdown inhibited clone formation in clonogenic assays and cell proliferation. Finally, we analyzed the FEZF1-dependent expression profile in A673 cells by RNAseq. Interestingly, several neural genes regulated by FEZF1 were concomitantly regulated by EWSR1-FLI1. In summary, FEZF1 is a transcriptional target of EWSR1-FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma cells involved in the regulation of neural-specific genes which could explain, at least in part, the neural-like phenotype observed in several Ewing sarcoma tumors and derived cell lines. Overall design: FEZF1-dependent expression profile in A673 Ewing sarcoma cells by RNAseq