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Updated: Sep 22, 2025
06:54
Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells
Published on: October 27, 2020
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PHF13 epigenetically activates TGFβ driven epithelial to mesenchymal transition.
Yating Sun1,2, Dan Li1, Hongmei Liu3,4
1The Precise Medicine Center, Department of Basic Medical College, Shenyang Medical College, Shenyang, 110034, China.
Cell Death & Disease
|May 21, 2022
Summary
PHD finger protein 13 (PHF13) is crucial for pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis. It regulates genes involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by maintaining active epigenetic marks.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Epigenetic alterations are key drivers of tumor metastasis.
- PHD finger protein 13 (PHF13) is an epigenetic reader involved in transcriptional regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of PHF13 in pancreatic cancer cell growth and metastasis.
- To elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying PHF13's function in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).
Main Methods:
- Integrative analysis of transcriptome and epigenetic profiles.
- Assessment of PHF13 depletion effects on gene activation and epigenetic marks.
- Chromatin region analysis for H3K4me3 and super-enhancer enrichment.
Main Results:
- PHF13 is essential for pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and metastasis.
- PHF13 depletion hinders the activation of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ)-stimulated genes.
- Loss of active epigenetic marks (H3K4me3, H3K27ac) observed upon PHF13 depletion.
- PHF13-dependent regions are enriched in super-enhancers controlling migration and invasion genes (e.g., SNAI1, SOX9).
Conclusions:
- PHF13 plays a critical role in pancreatic cancer progression by regulating EMT.
- PHF13 is required for the epigenetic activation of TGFβ target genes crucial for metastasis.
- A functional link exists between PHF13, epigenetic regulation, and EMT in pancreatic cancer.
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