NRF-1 directly regulates TFE3 and promotes the proliferation of renal cancer cells

The role of transcription factor binding to IGHM enhancer 3 (TFE3) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is not well understood. Nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) may be the positive upstream regulatory gene of TFE3. The aim of the present study was to determine whether NRF-1 could directly regulate the expression of TFE3 and regulate tumorigenesis and progression of RCC through TFE3. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to silence the expression of NRF-1 in the 786-O human kidney adenocarcinoma cell line and the 293T human embryonic kidney cell line. Luciferase reporter assays were used to determine the relationship between NRF-1 and TFE3. The CHIP experiment was used to verify the actual binding of NRF-1 and TFE3 promoter regions. MitoTimer staining was used to measure mitochondrial biosynthesis. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle and apoptosis. The 786-O and 293T cells were used to examine the underlying mechanism of action. The results demonstrated that NRF-1 could bind to the promoter region of the TFE3 gene and directly regulate the expression of TFE3. Following NRF-1 knockdown, the protein levels of phosphorylated (p)-AKT and p-S6 of mTOR pathway was inhibited, cell cycle progression was blocked, the levels of apoptosis increased, and mitochondrial generation was reduced. Following overexpression of TFE3, the levels of mTOR-associated markers were restored in NRF-1 knockdown cells. These findings suggest that NRF-1 may regulate the mTOR pathway through TFE3 and regulate the energy metabolism, proliferation and growth of cancer cells by directly regulating the expression of TFE3.