Unraveling the Interplay of Autophagy Genes and KLF3/KLF8 in Colorectal Cancer Metastasis: A Bioinformatics and cellular Exploration

Abstract

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a widespread malignancy globally, yet effective therapeutic approaches for advanced, metastatic, and chemo-resistant cases remain limited. In this study, we knocked out CRC cell line HCT 116 for two autophagy genes (ATG5 and ATG7), then we conducted a transcriptomic analysis on those isogenic cell lines. which revealed an upregulation of Krϋppel-like factor 3 (KLF3) expression, that was biologically validated. Methods In this study, we performed CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing on HCT 116 followed with transcriptomics analysis on HCT 116 KO cells for ATG5 and ATG7. Various bioinformatics analyses were performed to investigate the KLF3/8 with autophagy and affected functional pathways, and immune genes related to the different types. Validation of expression in different cell lines were done using qPCR and Western blot. Results To further investigate the role of autophagy genes in CRC, we utilized publicly available data and web-based tools. Our analysis showed a marked correlation between KLF3/KLF8 and the expression of autophagy genes in CRC, denoting that its upregulation is likely to be a compensatory mechanism. We also examined the co-expression of autophagy genes and KLF3/KLF8 with multiple markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and significant positive correlations were observed. Moreover, KLF8 expression was upregulated at the mRNA level in the metastatic cell lines LoVo and SK-CO-1, compared to HCT 116. Interestingly, KLF3/KLF8 expression was high in MSS molecular subtype of CRC as shown in HCT 116 cell line knocked in with MLH gene as well as they were negatively correlated with crucial immune-infiltrating cells such as CD8+ cells, indicating their potential as a negative biomarker for response to immunotherapy. Conclusion Our study proposes that a synergistic approach involving the inhibition of KLF8 and autophagy holds a potential therapeutic target for effectively tackling metastatic CRC cells, especially in cases characterized by deficient mismatch repair (MMR).