METTL3/YTHDF1-Driven SURF6 Promotes Prostate Cancer Stemness via CDK4

Prostate cancer (PCa) remains a major health challenge globally, necessitating the identification of novel therapeutic targets to improve patient outcomes. This study investigates the role of the SURF6 gene in PCa, focusing on its expression patterns, molecular mechanisms, and biological behaviours in vitro and in vivo. We employed a combination of bioinformatics analysis, gene expression profiling, Western blotting, and functional assays, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness assays, to evaluate the impact of SURF6 modulation in PCa cell lines. Our findings demonstrate that SURF6 is significantly upregulated in PCa tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, with elevated expression correlating with poor prognosis and advanced clinical stages. Functional assays revealed that silencing SURF6 inhibited PCa cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while overexpression of SURF6 enhanced these malignant characteristics. Notably, we identified that SURF6 regulates CDK4 expression, which plays a pivotal role in cell cycle progression and maintenance of stem-like properties, as evidenced by the modulation of cancer stem cell markers such as CD44 and Nanog. Furthermore, we elucidated that METTL3 and YTHDF1 regulate SURF6 expression through m⁶A modification. In vivo experiments confirmed that knockdown of SURF6 inhibits tumour growth and reduces stemness features in xenograft models. Overall, our study underscores the critical role of SURF6 in promoting PCa progression and highlights its potential as a therapeutic target, paving the way for future research focused on targeting SURF6 in clinical settings to improve treatment strategies for PCa.