Effects of FOXJ2 on TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition through Notch signaling pathway in non-small lung cancer.

As one member of Forkhead box transcription factors, Forkhead box J2 (FOXJ2) has been found to be involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. However, the role and mechanism of FOXJ2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and EMT regulation have not been fully revealed. In this paper, it was revealed that the expression of FOXJ2 was lower in NSCLC samples compared with matched peritumoral lung tissue. We demonstrated that FOXJ2 expression was down-regulated by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) treated, and overexpression of FOXJ2 inhibited TGF-β1-induced EMT. Mechanistically, knocking out the expression of FOXJ2 promoted EMT by increasing the expression of Notch1 and NICD. This study implicates the potential value of FOXJ2 as a molecular marker for NSCLC.