Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 mediates aerobic glycolysis via suppression of sirtuin 3 in pancreatic cancer

Figure 3 Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox-1 expression is negatively correlated with sirtuin 3 expression in pancreatic cancer. A: Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox-1 (ZEB1) knockdown increased sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) mRNA levels in PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 cells, but had only a small impact on SIRT4 and SIRT5 expression; B: SIRT3 protein levels increased in ZEB1-silenced PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 cells; C: SIRT3 expression negatively and significantly correlated with ZEB1 expression in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort of pancreatic cancer patients (P < 0.0001, R = -0.4856); D: SIRT3 expression was lower in patients with higher ZEB1 expression, as suggested by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining; E: SIRT3 expression was negatively and significantly correlated with ZEB1 expression, as demonstrated by IHC staining in pancreatic cancer patients (P = 0.0078, r = -0.4144). ^aP < 0.05, and ^bP < 0.01 vs NC or mock group. Error bars indicate mean ± SD. ZEB1: Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox-1; SIRT3: Sirtuin 3; IHC: Immunohistochemistry.