Cell-permeable peptide DEPDC1-ZNF224 interferes with transcriptional repression and oncogenicity in bladder cancer cells

Bladder Cancer is the second most common genitourinary Cancer worldwide, yet its oncogenic origins remain poorly understood. The cancer-testis antigen DEPDC1 was shown recently to contribute to bladder Cancer oncogenesis. In this study, we examined the biological functions of DEPDC1 and defined a potential therapeutic strategy to target this molecule. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunocytochemistry revealed that DEPDC1 interacted and colocalized with zinc finger transcription factor ZNF224, a known transcriptional repressor. Inhibiting this interaction with a cell-permeable peptide corresponding to the ZNF224-interacting domain in DEPDC1 induced Apoptosis of bladder Cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. By inhibiting DEPDC1-ZNF224 complex formation, this peptide triggered transcriptional activation of A20, a potent inhibitor of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway. Our findings indicate that the DEPDC1-ZNF224 complex is likely to play a critical role in bladder carcinogenesis.