SMURF1 Regulates CTCF-HOXA10 Axis and Promotes Tumor Progression in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

The aberrant upregulation of Homeobox A10 (HOXA10) has been implicated in the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the mechanisms driving its upregulation are not fully elucidated. This study demonstrated that the E3 ubiquitin ligase SMAD ubiquitination regulatory factor 1 (SMURF1) promoted the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), thereby alleviating CTCF-mediated transcriptional repression on HOXA10. Consequently, elevated HOXA10 expression contributed to tumor progression in NPC. We confirmed that HOXA10 was significantly upregulated in NPC and promoted malignant phenotypes of NPC cells. CTCF was identified as a direct transcriptional repressor of HOXA10 and was downregulated in NPC. Moreover, SMURF1 was found to be increased in NPC, where it directly bound to CTCF and regulated its protein stability. Specifically, SMURF1 promoted K48-linked ubiquitination degradation of CTCF. In vitro functional assays revealed that SMURF1 knockdown inhibited NPC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In vivo experiments further confirmed that SMURF1 knockdown suppressed NPC tumor growth and lung metastasis, accompanied by increased CTCF expression and decreased HOXA10 level in both tumor and lung tissues. Collectively, these findings revealed the SMURF1/CTCF/HOXA10 axis as a crucial mechanism in NPC pathogenesis, positioning SMURF1 as a promising therapeutic target for intervention.