Transcriptional Regulation of GDF15 by EGR1 Promotes Head and Neck Cancer Progression through a Positive Feedback Loop.

ABSTRACT: Growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), a divergent member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily, has been reported to be overexpressed in different kinds of cancer types. However, the function and mechanism of GDF15 in head and neck cancer (HNC) remains unclear. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data show that the expression of GDF15 is significantly associated with tumor AJCC stage, lymph vascular invasion and tumor grade in HNC. In this study, we confirmed that knockdown of GDF15 attenuated: cell proliferation, migration and invasion via regulation of EMT through a canonical pathway; SMAD2/3 and noncanonical pathways; PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK in HNC cell lines. Furthermore, we found that early growth response 1 (EGR1) was a transcription factor of GDF15. Interestingly,

SUBMITTER: Jin Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8538541 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature