POU2F1 promotes growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma through the FAT1 signaling pathway

Increasing evidence suggests that POU domain class 2 transcription factor 1 (POU2F1) participates in carcinogenesis and cancer progression via promotion of cell proliferation and metastasis; however, the functional role of POU2F1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is largely unknown. In this study, we determined that POU2F1 was significantly up-regulated in HCC tumor tissue and cell lines. We demonstrated that POU2F1 over-expression promoted HCC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion, while silencing of POU2F1 inhibited these malignant phenotypes. In vivo experiments indicated that knockdown of POU2F1 inhibited HCC cell metastasis and xenograft growth, whereas ectopic expression of POU2F1 promoted these cellular functions. Microarray analysis suggests that FAT atypical cadherin 1 (FAT1) can function downstream of POU2F1. Functionally, we demonstrated that POU2F1 knockdown induced growth suppression and metastasis inhibition of HCC cells and inactivated the FAT1 pathway, indicating that POU2F1 is a potential novel therapeutic target in HCC.