A Role of Zinc-Finger Protein 143 for Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion Through ZEB1 and E-Cadherin in Colon Cancer Cells

To investigate the role of zinc-finger protein 143 in cancer cells, we stably introduced ZNF143 expression knockdown by infecting colon cancer cells with short hairpin (sh) RNA-lentiviral particles against ZNF143 (HCT116 sh-ZNF143). Compared to sh-control cells, HCT116 sh-ZNF143 cells showed faster wound healing, increased migration through Transwell chambers, and increased invasion through Matrigel in Transwell chambers. ZNF143 knockdown increased transcriptional expression of ZEB1. Additionally, ZNF143 regulated E-cadherin transcriptional expression. Small interfering-RNA-mediated silencing of ZEB1 expression affected motility in HCT116 sh-ZNF143 cells. These data suggest that ZNF143 is involved in cellular motility through a ZEB1-E-cadherin-linked pathway in colon cancer cells. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.