SRSF3 plays a key role in liver cancer sex disparity by facilitating hepatocyte expression of ERα and FOXA

SRSF3 (SRp20) is an essential RNA splicing factor. By conditional knockout (KO) of Srsf3, we found Srsf3 at its physiological level plays a tumor-suppressive role in mouse liver carcinogenesis. Srsf3 KO in hepatocytes disrupted sex disparity in the development of DEN-induced liver cancer and resulted in high incidence of liver cancer in both male and female mice. In contrast, Srsf3 is oncogenic in the mouse mammary glands and Srsf3 KO significantly delayed the development of Erbb2 breast cancer. Srsf3 KO significantly increased the expression of transcription factors Sox4, E2f1, and Myc, calcium channel factor Trpv4, and zinc-binding Trim6 in liver cancer, but did not in Erbb2 breast cancer. Srsf3 KO enhanced the expression of glucose transmembrane transporter Mfsd4a and translation initiator Eif4a2 in DEN-induced liver cancer but reduced Mfsd4a and Eif4a2 expression in breast cancer. More importantly, Srsf3 KO reduced the expression of hepatocyte ERα and transcription factor Foxa family genes essential for sexual dimorphism in liver cancer and their downstream targets leukemia inhibitory factor receptor Lifr and epidermal growth factor receptor Egfr, but increased the expression of Myc. We further evidenced that SRSF3 binds to FOXA1 promoter and is responsible for FOXA1 promoter activity and FOXA1 expression in liver cancer cells. Together, our data highlight a functional paradigm of SRSF3 at its physiological level in tissue context-dependent gene regulation and in facilitating hepatocyte ERα and FOXA1 expression for sex disparity in liver cancer development.