Fig. 7

CARM1 activates autophagy by promoting TFE3 nuclear translocation. A The mRNA expression of the MiTF/TFE family (TFE3, TFEB, MITF) was detected by qRT–PCR in CARM1-knockdown HGC27 cells and CARM1-overexpressing BGC823 cells. B Western blotting was used to assess TFE3 protein levels in the nucleus of CARM1-treated cells, and histone H3 was used as a loading control for nuclear protein. C The percentage of TFE3 translocation into the nucleus was evaluated by immunofluorescence (scale bar: 50 μm). D Decreased TFE3 expression in CARM1-overexpressing BGC823 cells blocked autophagy flux and subsequently induced ER stress. Autophagy- and ER stress-related protein expression was evaluated in the cytoplasm, and TFE3 expression was examined in the nucleus by western blotting. β-Actin and H3 served as loading controls for cytoplasmic proteins and nuclear proteins, respectively. E and F Colony formation and CCK-8 assays revealed that TFE3 downregulation reversed the pro-proliferative effect of CARM1 on BGC823 cells. G TFE3 knockdown rescued the increased G1-S transition and decreased apoptosis resulting from CARM1 overexpression in BGC823 cells. Bars represent the mean ± SD from three independent experiments. *Represents *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001