A direct negative feedback loop of miR-4721/FOXA1/Nanog promotes nasopharyngeal cell stem cell enrichment and metastasis

OBJECTIVE: The recurrence and metastasis of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) may be mainly attributed to the persistence of cancer stem cells (CSCs); however, the linkage mechanism has yet to be fully elucidated. METHODS: The levels of miR-4721, FOXA1, and Nanog expression in NPC were detected by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. In vivo and in vitro metastasis assays confirmed miR-4721 promotes cell migration and invasion. Tumor spheroid formation assay, side population (SP) assay, and ALDEFLUOR assay verified miR-4721 regulates cancer stem cell-like properties. Luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-4721 directly regulates FOXA1 and FOXA1 effects the promoter activity of miR-4721 and Nanog. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis and electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA) revealed that FOXA1 combined the promoter region of human miR-4721 and Nanog and the possible mechanism was also analyzed. RESULTS: In this study, a new mechanism of NPC tumorigenesis related to miR-4721 was verified. We found that miR-4721, FOXA1 and Nanog control their expressions through a negative feedback loop and then activate the downstream regulator of stem cell signaling to promote the enrichment and metastasis of NPC stem cells. CONCLUSION: These findings elucidate that the feedback loop of miR-4721/FOXA1/Nanog can regulate stemness and metastasis in NPC and may provide an experimental theoretical basis for metastasis and treatment resistance in NPC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-03059-y.