Abstract
Background
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is considered a malignant tumor with a high mortality rate. To combat this disease, exploring the mechanism of T-ALL progression is urgently needed. Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are known as the transcription factors and mediate series of biological processes. KLF9 is a member of the KLF family which could serve as a tumor suppressor gene in most solid tumors. GEO Database analysis showed that KLF9 expression in normal T cells was higher than T-ALL cell lines and patients. However, the possible role of KLF9 in T-ALL progression is still unclear.
Objective
To uncover the possible effects of Krüppel-like transcription factor 9 (KLF9) on the progression of T-Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).
Results
The expression of KLF9 was low in human T-ALL cells. KLF9 suppressed the viability of T-ALL cells. In addition, KLF9 stimulated the apoptosis as well as autophagy of T-ALL cells. Mechanically, KLF9 suppressed AKT/mTOR pathway in T-ALL cells.
Conclusion
KLF9 suppressed viability and promoted autophagy as well as apoptosis in T-ALL cells by inhibiting AKT/mTOR pathway.
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Data availability
The authors declare that all data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper and any raw data can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request.
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JZ and WT designed the experiments. SH, CX and SZ carried them out. XC, XL and QY analyzed and interpreted the data, LY and LM prepared the manuscript with contributions from all co-authors.
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Author Jie Zhao declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Shaolong He declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Chenhuan Xiang declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Shaoli Zhang declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Xinyue Chen declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Xinyi Lu declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Qiong Yao declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Liping Yang declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Liangming Ma declares that he/she has no conflict of interest; author Weiwei Tian declares that he/she has no conflict of interest.
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Zhao, J., He, S., Xiang, C. et al. KLF9 promotes autophagy and apoptosis in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells by inhibiting AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Mol. Cell. Toxicol. 19, 531–538 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-022-00284-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-022-00284-4