Hypermethylation of PRKCZ Regulated by E6 Inhibits Invasion and EMT via Cdc42 in HPV-Related Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

类型：

作者：Hao-Fan Wang, Jian Jiang, Jia-Shun Wu, Mei Zhang, Xin Pang, Li Dai, Ya-Ling Tang, Xin-Hua Liang
期刊：Cancers
阅读原文

Purpose:To study the role of target genes with aberrant DNA methylation in HPV+ HNSCC.

Methods:A HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array (Illumina) was used to identify differentially methylated genes. CCK-8, flow cytometry, wound healing, and cell invasion assays were conducted to analyze the biological roles of PRKCZ. Western blot, qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and animal studies were performed to explore the mechanisms underlying the functions of PRKCZ.

Results:We selected PRKCZ, which is associated with HPV infection, as our target gene. PRKCZ was hypermethylated in HPV+ HNSCC patients, and PRKCZ methylation status was negatively related to the pathological grading of HNSCC patients. Silencing PRKCZ inhibited the malignant capacity of HPV+ HNSCC cells. Mechanistically, HPV might promote DNMT1 expression via E6 to increase PRKCZ methylation. Cdc42 was required for the PRKCZ-mediated mechanism of action, contributing to the occurrence of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HPV+ HNSCC cells. In addition, blocking PRKCZ delayed tumor growth in HPV16-E6/E7 transgenic mice. Cdc42 expression was decreased, whereas E-cadherin levels increased.

Conclusion:We suggest that PRKCZ hypermethylation induces EMT via Cdc42 to act as a potent tumor promoter in HPV+ HNSCC.