Fig. 7

CUX1, ZRF1, BRD4 and target genes are associated with poor outcome of NB patients. a Kaplan–Meier curves indicating overall survival of 498 well-defined NB cases (GSE62564) with high or low expression of CUX1 (cutoff value = 32.233), ZRF1 (cutoff value = 21.749), BRD4 (cutoff value = 652.58), ALDH3A1 (cutoff value = 1.181), NDUFA1 (cutoff value = 22.511), or NDUFAF5 (cutoff value = 7.964). b The positive expression correlation between ZRF1 and ALDH3A1, NDUFA1, or NDUFAF5 in 498 well-defined NB cases (GSE62564). c The mechanisms underlying p113-faciliated NB progression: as a novel protein encoded by ecircCUX1, p113 cooperates with ZRF1 and BRD4 to activate the transcription of ALDH3A1, NDUFA1, or NDUFAF5, resulting in promoted conversion of fatty aldehydes into fatty acids, fatty acid β-oxidation, mitochondrial complex I activity, growth, and aggressiveness of NB cells. Meanwhile, inhibitory peptides (ZIP-12) blocking p113-ZRF1 interaction suppresses tumor progression. Log-rank test for survival comparison in a. Pearson’s correlation coefficient for b