Overexpressed P75CUX1 promotes EMT in glioma infiltration by activating β-catenin

Abstract

The homeobox protein cut-like 1 (CUX1) comprises three isoforms and has been shown to be involved in the development of various types of malignancies. However, the expression and role of the CUX1 isoforms in glioma remain unclear. Herein, we first identified that P75CUX1 isoform exhibited consistent expression among three isoforms in glioma with specifically designed antibodies to identify all CUX1 isoforms. Moreover, a significantly higher expression of P75CUX1 was found in glioma compared with non-tumor brain (NB) tissues, analyzed with western blot and immunohistochemistry, and the expression level of P75CUX1 was positively associated with tumor grade. In addition, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that P75CUX1 could serve as an independent prognostic indicator to identify glioma patients with poor overall survival. Furthermore, CUX1 knockdown suppressed migration and invasion of glioma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, this study found that P75CUX1 regulated epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process mediated via β-catenin, and CUX1/β-catenin/EMT is a novel signaling cascade mediating the infiltration of glioma. Besides, CUX1 was verified to promote the progression of glioma via multiple other signaling pathways, such as Hippo and PI3K/AKT. In conclusion, we suggested that P75CUX1 could serve as a potential prognostic indicator as well as a novel treatment target in malignant glioma.