Hepatocyte nuclear factor-1β suppresses the stemness and migration of colorectal cancer cells through promoting miR-200b activity.

The effects of hepatocyte nuclear factors (HNFs) have been established in various tumors; however, the roles of HNF-1 beta in colorectal cancer progression are never been found. In the present study, HNF-1 beta expression was initially detected in clinical tissue samples and online datasets and HNF-1 beta was found to be highly expressed in colorectal cancer tissues. In addition, a positive correlation existed between HNF-1 beta expression and the overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that HNF-1 beta suppressed the stemness and migration of colorectal cancer cells. Combined with microRNAs (miRNAs) based on transcriptome-sequencing analysis, mechanistic studies showed that HNF-1 beta directly bound to miR-200b promoter and thus promoted miR-200b expression, this HNF-1 beta/miR-200b resulted in the downregulation of the expression of miR-200b downstream effectors. Furthermore, HNF-1 beta inhibits the stemness and migration of colorectal cancer cells through miR-200b. This study reveals a novel HNF-1 beta/miR-200b axis responsible for the stemness of colorectal cancer cells.