Furthermore, shRNA-mediated SUZ12 knock-down significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HNSCC cells, and resulted in compromised tumour growth in vivo.
In conclusion, our data suggest that DICER1 suppresses SUZ12 and EZH2 via affecting their upstream miRNA synthesis, and inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) and invasion of EC cells via histone modification.
HIF1-α induction upon hypoxia results in PRC2 inactivation by selective suppression of the expression of suppressor of zeste 12 protein homolog (SUZ12) and embryonic ectoderm development (EED), leading to a functional switch toward Ezh2/FoxM1-dependent induction of the expression of MMPs and invasion.
We further found that miR-200b/c regulated migration and invasion capacities by directly targeting rho-kinase 2 and regulated tumorigenic properties by directly targeting SUZ12 (a subunit of a polycomb repressor complex).