Forkhead box F1 functions as a novel prognostic biomarker and induces caspase‑dependent apoptosis in bladder cancer

Hao,Yining; Hao,Yining; He,Wei; He,Wei; Wang,Haofei; Wang,Haofei; Rui,Wenbin; Rui,Wenbin; Sun,Fukang; Sun,Fukang; Zhu,Yu; Zhu,Yu; Xu,Danfeng; Xu,Danfeng; Wang,Chenghe; Wang,Chenghe

doi:10.3892/or.2023.8610

Forkhead box F1 functions as a novel prognostic biomarker and induces caspase‑dependent apoptosis in bladder cancer

Authors:
- Yining Hao
- Wei He
- Haofei Wang
- Wenbin Rui
- Fukang Sun
- Yu Zhu
- Danfeng Xu
- Chenghe Wang
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Affiliations: Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China
Published online on: August 3, 2023 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2023.8610
Article Number: 173
Copyright: © Hao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The downregulated expression of forkhead box F1 (FOXF1) has been found in many malignant tumors but no research was done in bladder cancer (BC). The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic value and antitumor effects of FOXF1 in patients with BC. Herein, a retrospectively recruited BC cohort and public datasets were utilized to identify the predictive ability of FOXF1 and determine its association with the clinical characteristics of BC patients. It was found that the expression level of FOXF1 was notably lower in BC tissues than in para‑cancerous mucosae. Low FOXF1 expression was associated with unfavorable clinicopathological features and poor prognosis. Furthermore, in BC cells, the mRNA and protein expression levels of FOXF1 were examined using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. Cell viability was examined using Cell Counting Kit‑8, EdU and clonogenic capacity assays. Cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry. The results revealed that the activation of FOXF1 impaired cell viability and induced apoptosis in BC. The antitumor effects of FOXF1 were also validated using animal models. Subsequently, caspase‑3 was spotted as a downstream gene of FOXF1 by using RNA sequencing and protein‑protein interaction analyses. FOXF1 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of BC cells via caspase signaling pathway. The present study demonstrates the expression patterns, prognostic predictive ability and antitumor effects of FOXF1 in BC. FOXF1 is a favorable biomarker for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with BC and represents a potential therapeutic target.

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