ZNF703 promotes triple-negative breast cancer cells through cell-cycle signaling and associated with poor prognosis

BACKGROUND: The oncogenic drivers of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is characterized by worst prognosis compared with other subtypes, are poorly understood. Although next-generation sequencing technology has facilitated identifying potential targets, few of the findings have been translated into daily clinical practice. The present study is aimed to explore ZNF703 (Zinc finger 703) function and its underlying mechanism in TNBC. METHODS: ZNF703 expressions in tissue microarray were retrospectively examined by immunohistochemistry. The cell proliferation by SRB assay and colony formation assay, as well as cell cycle distribution by flow cytometry were assessed. The protein levels associated with possible underlying molecular mechanisms were evaluated by western blotting. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to plot survival analysis. RESULTS: Our data suggest that ZNF703 expressed in 34.2% of triple-negative human breast tumors by immunohistochemistry. In vitro, ZNF703 knockdown had potent inhibitory effects on TNBC cell proliferation and cell cycle, with cyclin D1, CDK4, CDK6, and E2F1 downregulated, while Rb1 upregulated. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that high mRNA expression of ZNF703 was correlated to worse overall survival (HR for high expression was 3.04; 95% CI, 1.22 to 7.57, P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results identified that targeting ZNF703 contributed to the anti-proliferative effects in TNBC cells, due to induced G1-phase arrest. This study is the first to identify ZNF703 as a potentially important protein that is involved in TNBC progression. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09286-w.