Sample collection
Fifty-four paired CRC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were collected from March 2015 to May 2019 in Tangdu Hospital, the Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, China. Informed consent was obtained from all patients or their guardians and the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of our institution.
Cell culture and transfection
Four CRC cell lines (including LOVO, SW480, HT-29, and HCT-116) and one normal colon epithelial cell line (FHC) were obtained from Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (Shanghai, China). All cell lines were cultured in DMEM (Gibco, USA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS; Tianhang, Hangzhou, China) and 1% penicillin-streptomycin in a humidified incubator (37°C, 5% CO2). Small interfering RNA targeting XIST (si-XIST: 5’-GCCCUUCUCUUCGAACUGUTT-3’) and its matching control (si-NC: 5’-CGTTAATCGCGTATAATACGCGTAT-3’), were obtained from Genepharma (Shanghai, China). A miR-497-5p mimic (miR-497-5p), its inhibitor (anti-miR-497-5p), and their corresponding controls (miR-NC and anti-miR-NC) were obtained from Ribobio (Guangzhou, China). For overexpression vectors, the sequence of FOXK1 was cloned into the pcDNA3.1 vector (vector) according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Life Technologies). Briefly, 100 nM of miR-497-5p mimics or miR-497-5p inhibitor and 1000 ng plasmid were transfected into each 6-well plate for 48 h using Lipofectamine 3000 (Invitrogen, Waltham, MA, USA). For animal experiments, cells were stably transfected with an XIST lentiviral vector, constructed by Hanyin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China. After transfection, DMEM medium was replaced with DMEM supplemented with puromycin (3 µg/mL) as a positive selection for infected cells.
Cell proliferation assays
The viability of HT29 and SW480 cells was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK-8, Dojindo, Kumamoto, Japan). HT29 and SW480 cells (1×103cells/mL per 96-well plate) were cultured for 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. For the cell proliferation assay, each well was treated with 10 μL CCK-8 solution for 2 h. Absorbance was detected at 450 nm using a standard microplate reader.
Flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis
HT29 and SW480 cells were harvested and fixed in pre-cooled ethanol, then resuspended in cold buffer containing 5 μL Annexin V-FITC. The samples were treated with 5 μL PI and 200 μL binding buffer and incubated for 5 min. Cell apoptosis was then analyzed using an Annexin FITC/PI flow cytometry assay kit.
Cell Migration and Invasion Assay
A transwell assay was used to assess cell migration and invasion. The upper chamber was coated with Matrigel (8.0 μm PET membrane, 24 well plate, Corning, USA), after which cells were added at a density of 1×104 cells/well and cultured in 400 μL serum-free DMEM medium. Next, 600 μL DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS was added to the lower chamber. Cells were then incubated for 24 h, after which cells on the bottom of the upper chamber were fixed with 90% ethanol solution for 30 min. Cells were then stained with 0.1% crystal violet for 10 min, and the degree of invasion was observed using a light microscope (Olympus, Japan).
Dual-luciferase reporter assay
XIST or FOXK1 sequences containing a miR-497-5p binding site were amplified by PCR and cloned to a psiCHECK-2 vector (Promega, Madison, WI, USA) to generate XIST-WT (wild-type) or FOXK1-WT (wild-type). The binding site of XIST was mutated to obtain the XIST-MUT (mutant type) or FOXK1-MUT (mutant type) using a Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene, California, USA). XIST-WT, XIST-MUT, FOXK1-WT, and FOXK1-MUT were then co-transfected along with a miR-497-5p mimic into HT-29 and SW480 cells. Luciferase activities were detected using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system (Promega, Madison, USA).
RNA isolation and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase (qRT-PCR)
Total RNA extraction was conducted using Trizol Reagent (Shanghai Pufei Biotech Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China). cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription after DNA elimination and amplified using SYBR Green Master Mixture (Takara, Otsu, Japan). The primer sequences are: LncRNA XIST: F: (5’-3’) AGC TCC TCG GAC AGC TGT AA; R: (5’-3’) CTC CAG ATA GCT GGC AAC C. miR-497-5p: F: (5’-3’) CCT TCA GCA GCA CAC TGT GG; R: (5’-3’) CAG TGC AGG GTC CGA GGT AT. FOXK1: F: (5’-3’) ACA CGT CTG GAG GAG ACA GC; R: (5’-3’) GAG AGG TTG TGC CGG ATA GA. GAPDH: F: (5’-3’) AAC GGA TTT GGT CGT ATT G; R: (5’-3’) GGA AGA TGG TGA TGG GAT T. Results were calculated using a LightCycler 480 real-time PCR system (Roche, Indianapolis, Ind). The thermocycling conditions were applied as follows: denaturation at 95°C for 5 min followed by 40 cycles at 95°C for 30 sec, primer annealing at 60°C for 30 sec, and primer extension at 72°C for 5 min.
Western blot
Samples were lysed in RIPA buffer containing protease inhibitors. Total protein was isolated from cell or tissue lysates after centrifugation. The concentration of protein was assessed using a Bradford Protein Assay Kit (Beyotime, China). After quantification, 30 µg protein was resolved by SDS-PAGE and electro-transferred onto a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (Millipore, Boston, MA, USA) (250 mA, 2h), blocked with 5% skim milk for 1 h, and then incubated with primary antibodies anti-FOXK1 (1: 1000 dilution) or anti-β-actin (1: 5000 dilution, Cell Signaling Technology, USA) at 4°C overnight, followed by incubation with appropriate secondary antibodies at room temperature for 1 h. Signal was detected using the enhanced chemiluminescence system.
Xenograft Tumor Model
Male BALB/c nude mice (~4 weeks of age) were purchased from Charles River (Beijing, China) and further used for the xenograft assays. All animal procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Studies of Tangdu Hospital, the Air Force Medical University. HT29 cells (2×106) transfected with si-XIST or si-NC were injected subcutaneously into one flank of each mouse. Tumors were measured every four days, with measurements used to calculate total tumor volumes. All mice were sacrificed after 24 days, and tumor masses were weighed and used for subsequent molecular analysis.
Statistical analysis
All data of this study were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation (SD) and repeated at least three times. SPSS 22.0 software was used to conduct all statistical analyses (SPSS, Inc, USA). The comparison between the data of the groups was analyzed by the Student’s t-test and two-way analysis of variance. The p-vale <0.05 indicated statistical significance.