TIMELESS contributes to the progression of breast cancer through activation of MYC

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death among women. TIMELESS (TIM), a circadian rhythm regulator, has been recently implicated in the progression of human cancer. However, the role of TIM in the progression of breast cancer has not been well-characterized. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was used to examine TIM levels in breast cancer specimens. Mammosphere formation analysis and side population analysis were used to examine the effect of TIM on the self-renewal of breast cancer stem cells. A wound healing assay and a Transwell assay were used to determine the role of TIM in breast cancer cell migration and invasion. A soft agar growth assay in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo were used to determine the role of TIM in tumorigenicity. RESULTS: TIM levels in both breast cancer cell lines and tissues were significantly upregulated. Patients with high TIM had poorer prognosis than patients with low TIM. Overexpression of TIM dramatically enhanced, while knockdown of TIM suppressed the self-renewal of cancer stem cells (CSCs), cell invasion and migration abilities of breast cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, overexpression of TIM significantly augmented, while knockdown of TIM reduced the tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells in vivo. Mechanism studies revealed that TIM upregulated the expression and the trans-activity of the well-known oncogene MYC. Inhibition of MYC significantly blocked the effects of TIM on CSC population, cell invasion and anchor-independent cell growth. CONCLUSION: TIM plays an important role in promoting breast cancer progression and may represent a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-017-0838-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.