Ran Tao
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Ran Tao has a total of 8 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Di Cui
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College
1 shared publication - Jingjing Qi
Medical Faculty, Medical Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
1 shared publication - Lianjie Li
General Surgery, Cancer Center, Department of Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 310014, China
1 shared publication - Qi Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, China
1 shared publication - Qi-Nian Wu
Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China
1 shared publication - Walter Birchmeier
Cancer Research Program, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in the Helmholtz Society, 13125 Berlin, Germany
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Targeting Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling by TET1/FOXO4 Inhibits Metastatic Spreading and Self-Renewal of Cancer Stem Cells in Gastric Cancer
Metastasis is the main cause of death for patients suffering gastric cancer. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells (CSC) are critical attributes of metastasis, both of which are regulated tightly by DNA methylation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Here, we studied the functions of DNA dioxygenase TET1 in regulating Wnt signaling and in gastric cancer metastasis. Knocking-down and overexpressing TET1 in gastric cancer cells promoted and inhibited metastatic spreading to the liver in immune-deficient mice, respectively. TET1 showed inhibitory effects on metastasis-related features -EMT and CSC, which were reversed by interfering with Wnt/β-catenin signaling. RNA-sequencing identified FOXO4 as a direct transactivating target of TET1. FOXO4 directly interacted with β-catenin and recruited it in the cytoplasm, so as to inhibit β-catenin-mediated transcription of Wnt target genes, including CSC marker EpCAM. Moreover, modulation of FOXO4 could reverse the effects of TET1 manipulation on EMT and self-renewal of CSCs. The analysis with clinical samples confirmed the value of FOXO4 as an independent prognostic predictor of patients’ overall survival. Taken together, regulation of Wnt signaling by TET1/FOXO4 is essential for metastasis-associated cellular properties, and targeting TET1/FOXO4/β-catenin pathway may serve as promising therapeutics in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer metastasis.
Open AccessTargeting Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling by TET1/FOXO4 Inhibits Metastatic Spreading and Self-Renewal of Cancer Stem Cells in Gastric Cancer
Metastasis is the main cause of death for patients suffering gastric cancer. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells (CSC) are critical attributes of metastasis, both of which are regulated tightly by DNA methylation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Here, we studied the functions of DNA dioxygenase TET1 in regulating Wnt signaling and in gastric cancer metastasis. Knocking-down and overexpressing TET1 in gastric cancer cells promoted and inhibited metastatic spreading to the liver in immune-deficient mice, respectively. TET1 showed inhibitory effects on metastasis-related features -EMT and CSC, which were reversed by interfering with Wnt/β-catenin signaling. RNA-sequencing identified FOXO4 as a direct transactivating target of TET1. FOXO4 directly interacted with β-catenin and recruited it in the cytoplasm, so as to inhibit β-catenin-mediated transcription of Wnt target genes, including CSC marker EpCAM. Moreover, modulation of FOXO4 could reverse the effects of TET1 manipulation on EMT and self-renewal of CSCs. The analysis with clinical samples confirmed the value of FOXO4 as an independent prognostic predictor of patients’ overall survival. Taken together, regulation of Wnt signaling by TET1/FOXO4 is essential for metastasis-associated cellular properties, and targeting TET1/FOXO4/β-catenin pathway may serve as promising therapeutics in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer metastasis.