SOX14 promotes proliferation and invasion of cervical cancer cells through Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2015 Feb 1;8(2):1698-704. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

SOX14 is a member of the SOXB2 subgroup of transcription factors implicated in neural development. Although SOX14 expression profile and function during development was revealed in various animal model systems, the role of this gene during tumor progression is totally unknown. In this study, the expression of SOX14 increases in four cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa, Caski, HT-3 and SiHa) as revealed by real-time PCR and Western blot analyses. Through knocking down or overexpressing SOX14 in SiHa and HeLa cells, the expression level of SOX14 was found to be positively related to cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. Moreover, the TOP-Flash reporter assay and Western blot for β-catenin genes of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, indicated that SOX14 significantly activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Further study showed that the blockage of Wnt/β-catenin pathway by knocking down β-catenin resulted in a significant inhibition of cell proliferation and invasion capacity induced by SOX14. To summarize, these results demonstrate that SOX14 can promote proliferation and invasion capacity of cervical cancer cells by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Keywords: SOX14; Wnt/β-catenin pathway; cervical cancer; invasion; proliferation.

MeSH terms

  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Proliferation / physiology
  • Female
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology*
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • SOXB2 Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Transfection
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Wnt Signaling Pathway / physiology*

Substances

  • SOX14 protein, human
  • SOXB2 Transcription Factors