Effect of EWS/FLI1 and DAX1 silencing on the gene expression profile of the A673 Ewing cell line

ABSTRACT: The molecular hallmark of the Ewing family of tumors is the presence of balanced chromosomal translocations leading to the formation of chimerical transcription factors (i.e. EWS/FLI1) that play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Ewing tumors by deregulating gene expression. We have recently demonstrated that DAX1 (NR0B1), an orphan nuclear receptor which was not previously implicated in cancer, is induced by the EWS/FLI1 oncoprotein and is highly expressed in Ewing tumors, suggesting that DAX1 is a biologically relevant target of EWS/FLI1-mediated oncogenesis. In this work we demonstrate that DAX1 is a direct transcriptional target of the EWS/FLI1 oncoprotein through its binding to a GGA-rich region in the DAX1 promoter and show that DAX1 is a key player of EWS/FLI1-mediated oncogenesis. DAX1 silencing using an inducible model of RNA interference induces growth arrest in the A673 Ewing cell line and severely impairs its capability to grow in semisolid medium and form tumors in immunodeficient mice. Gene expression profile analysis demonstrated that about ten percent of the genes regulated by EWS/FLI1 in Ewing cells are DAX1 targets, confirming the importance of DAX1 in Ewing oncogenesis. These findings indicate that DAX1 is an important player in the pathogenesis of the Ewing family of tumors, identify new functions for DAX1 as a cell cycle progression regulator and open the possibility to new therapeutic approaches based on DAX1 function interference. A673 cells derived from Ewing sarcoma were genetically enginereed to express specific shRNAs against GFP (control), EWS/FLI1 and DAX1 upon doxycycline stimulation. Three independent clones and a polyclonal population from each enginereed cell were analyzed. Cells were stimulated with doxycycline for 72 hours to induce the expression of the corresponding shRNA and whole gene expression profile performed. Gene expression profile in A673 cells in which EWS/FLI1 or DAX1 were silenced were compared to the control cells.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Javier Alonso 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-36007 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress