Cited by 117Kruppel-like factors researchMelanoma and MAPK PathwaysProtein Kinase Regulation and GTPase Signaling

KLF4 is regulated by RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling through E2F1 and promotes melanoma cell growth

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Riverso, M, Montagnani, V, Stecca, B·2017·Oncogene

Abstract

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer and treatment of metastatic melanoma remains challenging. BRAF/MEK inhibitors show only temporary benefit due the occurrence of resistance and immunotherapy is effective only in a subset of patients. To improve patient survival, there is a need to better understand molecular mechanisms that drive melanoma growth and operate downstream of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. The Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a zinc-finger transcription factor that plays a critical role in embryonic development, stemness and cancer, where it can act either as oncogene or tumor suppressor. KLF4 is highly expressed in post-mitotic epidermal cells, but its role in melanoma remains unknown. Here, we address the function of KLF4 in melanoma and its interaction with the MAPK signaling pathway. We find that KLF4 is highly expressed in a subset of human melanomas. Ectopic expression of KLF4 enhances melanoma cell growth by decreasing apoptosis. Conversely, knock-down of KLF4 reduces melanoma cell proliferation and induces cell death. In addition, depletion of KLF4 reduces melanoma xenograft growth in vivo. We find that the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling positively modulates KLF4 expression through the transcription factor E2F1, which directly binds to KLF4 promoter. Overall, our data demonstrate the pro-tumorigenic role of KLF4 in melanoma and uncover a novel ERK1/2-E2F1-KLF4 axis. These findings identify KLF4 as a possible new molecular target for designing novel therapeutic treatments to control melanoma growth.

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Crossref · 10.1038/onc.2016.481

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  • Upregulation of pioneer developmental organizers such as SOX2, KLF4, β-catenin, SNAIL-1, c-MYC, TBX3, and BCL6 is reported downstream of BRAF/MAPK-driven tumor.

    “Even upregulation of pioneer developmental organizers, such as SOX2, KLF4, β-catenin, SNAIL-1, c-MYC, TBX3, BCL6, et al., are reported downstream of BRAF/MAPK-driven tumor, the pathways causing lineage reprogramming are not clear12,15,30–36.”

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Authors
Riverso, M., Montagnani, V, & Stecca, B.
Affiliations
  • Tumour Institute of Tuscany (IT)
  • Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (IT)
Corresponding author
Stecca, B
Venue
Oncogene
Published
2017-01-09
Volume
36
Issue
23
Pages
3322-3333
ISSN
  • 0950-9232 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5594
OpenAlex
W2567939958
Cited by
115
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 3
FWCI
3.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Oncogene (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Istituto Toscano Tumori
  • Università degli Studi di Firenze
  • Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (IG-14184)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Kruppel-like factors research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Kinase Regulation and GTPase Signaling
Keywords
KLF4, melanoma, RAS/MAPK pathway, MAPK signaling, E2F1, ERK1/2, transcriptional regulation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, xenograft tumor growth, therapeutic target
MeSH terms
Kruppel-Like Factor 4, Animals, Female, Humans, Melanoma, Mice, Nude, Skin Neoplasms, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Biomarkers, Tumor, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Apoptosis, ras Proteins, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases, MAP Kinase Kinase 1, raf Kinases, Cell Proliferation, E2F1 Transcription Factor, Mice, Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors

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