Basic Study
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World J Stem Cells. Mar 26, 2025; 17(3): 99472
Published online Mar 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i3.99472
DNA methyltransferase 1/miR-342-3p/Forkhead box M1 signaling axis promotes self-renewal in cervical cancer stem-like cells in vitro and nude mice models
Xiao-Zheng Cao, Yao-Feng Zhang, Yu-Wei Song, Lei Yuan, Hui-Li Tang, Jin-Yuan Li, Ye-Bei Qiu, Jia-Zhi Lin, Ying-Xia Ning, Xiao-Yu Wang, Yong Xu, Shao-Qiang Lin
Xiao-Zheng Cao, Lei Yuan, Shao-Qiang Lin, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Esophageal Cancer Precise Therapy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510062, Guangdong Province, China
Xiao-Zheng Cao, Yong Xu, Institute of Drug Discovery, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, Guangdong Province, China
Yao-Feng Zhang, School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong Province, China
Yu-Wei Song, Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China
Hui-Li Tang, Xiao-Yu Wang, Shao-Qiang Lin, Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Shunde Hospital of Jinan University, Foshan 528000, Guangdong Province, China
Jin-Yuan Li, Department of Pelvic Radiotherapy, Meizhou People’s Hospital, Meizhou 514030, Guangdong Province, China
Ye-Bei Qiu, Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China
Jia-Zhi Lin, Ying-Xia Ning, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Yong Xu and Shao-Qiang Lin.
Author contributions: Cao XZ conducted the experiments and drafted the manuscript; Zhang YF and Yuan L assisted in the study design and data analysis; Song YW and Li JY performed the immunohistochemistry and western blotting of cell and tumor tissue; Tang HL, Qiu YB, and Lin JZ performed the date collection; Ning YX and Wang XY consulted the literature and contributed to revision; Xu Y and Lin SQ contributed equally as co-corresponding authors, whereby Xu Y led the study design, data interpretation, and manuscript preparation, and Lin SQ co-led the experimental design, data analysis, and manuscript editing; All authors approved the final version of the article.
Supported by Guangzhou Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, No. 202201010121; Medical Joint Fund of Jinan University, No. YXZY2024014 and No. YXJC2022001; Hospital Achievement Transformation and Cultivation Project, No. ZH201911; the Key Discipline Project of Guangdong Province, No. 2019-GDXK-0016; and the Medical Science and Technology Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, No. B2021145.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Committee of Experimental Animal Feeding and Management approved all research assays (Permit No. D2020041).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shao-Qiang Lin, MD, PhD, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Esophageal Cancer Precise Therapy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, No. 19 Nonglinxia Road, Guangzhou 510062, Guangdong Province, China. sqlin123@163.com
Received: July 29, 2024
Revised: October 24, 2024
Accepted: January 2, 2025
Published online: March 26, 2025
Processing time: 234 Days and 23 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The study revealed a novel DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)/miR-342-3p/Forkhead box M1 (FoxM1) signaling axis that enhances self-renewal of cervical cancer stem cell-like cells (CCSLCs). Knockdown of DNMT1 or miR-342-3p elevation inhibits CCSLC self-renewal, while FoxM1 suppression also attenuates this process. Overexpression of DNMT1 or FoxM1 reverses the effects of miR-342-3p mimic. This signaling pathway presents a potential therapeutic target for inhibiting CCSLC self-renewal in cervical cancer, offering new insights for targeted treatment strategies.