Bif-1 promotes tumor cell migration and metastasis via Cdc42 expression and activity

  • Cunzhen Zhang
  • , Fenghua Liu
  • , Haiyang Chen
  • , Nan Li
  • , Zaili Luo
  • , Weixing Guo
  • , Dandan Huang
  • , Shanhua Tang
  • , Honggang Wang
  • , Shuqun Cheng
  • , Zhong Li
  • , Hongyang Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tumor metastasis is the process by which tumor cells disseminate from tumors and enter nearby and distant microenvironments for new colonization. Bif-1 (BAX-interacting factor 1), which has a BAR domain and an SH3 domain, has been reported to be involved in cell growth, apoptosis and autophagy. However, the influence of Bif-1 on metastasis has been less studied. To understand the role of Bif-1 in metastasis, we studied the expression levels of Bif-1 in human HCC specimens using immunohistochemistry, a tissue microarray and quantitative PCR. The function of Bif-1 was assessed in migration and translocation assays and the pulmonary metastatic animal model. The relationship between Bif-1 and the Rho family was determined using immunoblot analyses and chromatin immunoprecipitation. The results showed that the expression of Bif-1 was higher in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than matched adjacent non-tumor liver tissues. Increased Bif-1 expression was associated with tumor size and the intercellular spread and metastasis of HCC. Analysis of the relationship between Bif-1 expression and patients’ clinical characteristics revealed that patients with higher levels of Bif-1 had shorter disease-free and overall survival rates. Knockdown of Bif-1 with RNAi suppressed the migration of HCC cells and pulmonary metastasis and decreased the expression of Cdc42, a member of the Rho family. Bif-1 localized to the cytosol and nucleus and interacted with the promoter transcription region of Cdc42, which may regulate Cdc42 expression. Our results demonstrate a novel role of Bif-1 in HCC, in which Bif-1 promotes cell metastasis by regulating Cdc42 expression and activity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)11-23
Number of pages13
JournalClinical and Experimental Metastasis
Volume34
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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