Gene silencing of FANCF potentiates the sensitivity to mitoxantrone through activation of JNK and p38 signal pathways in breast cancer cells.

Fanconi anemia complementation group-F (FANCF) is a key factor to maintain the function of FA/BRCA, a DNA-damage response pathway. However, the functional role of FANCF in breast cancer has not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effects and mechanisms of FANCF-RNAi on the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to mitoxantrone (MX). FANCF silencing by FANCF-shRNA blocked functions of FA/BRCA pathway through inhibition of FANCD2 mono-ubiquitination in breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T-47D. In addition, FANCF shRNA inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and chromosome fragmentation in both breast cancer cells. We also found that FANCF silencing potentiated the sensitivity to MX in breast cancer cells, accompanying with an increase in intracellular MX accumulation and a decrease in BCRP expression. Furthermore, we found that the blockade of FA/BRCA pathway by FANCF-RNAi activated p38 and JNK MAPK signal pathways in response to MX treatment. BCRP expression was restored by p38 inhibitor SB203580, but not by JNK inhibitor SP600125. FANCF silencing increased JNK and p38 mediated activation of p53 in MX-treated breast cancer cells, activated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Our findings indicate that FANCF shRNA potentiates the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to MX, suggesting that FANCF may be a potential target for therapeutic strategies for the treatment of breast tumors.