FoxM1 promotes the migration of ovarian cancer cell through KRT5 and KRT7

•The cell adhesion and extracellular matrix receptor binding related genes were regulated by FoxM1.•ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data showed that KRT5 and KRT7 were FoxM1 downstream target genes.•Inhibition of KRT5 or KRT7 prevented SK-OV-3 cell migration.•The expression levels of KRT5 and KRT7 were high in ovarian cancer tissues and positively correlated with FxoM1 expression. Forkhead box M1(FoxM1) played an important role in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer, but its downstream molecular network is mysterious. Here, we combined ChIP-seq with RNA-seq analysis and identified 687 FoxM1-binding regions and 182 genes regulated by FoxM1. The above data pointed out that KRT5 and KRT7 were downstream target genes of FoxM1. Next, we used qPCR and Western blot to verify that FoxM1 knockdown inhibited the expression levels of KRT5 and KRT7. We also demonstrated that FoxM1 regulated KRT5 and KRT7 genes expression through binding a consensus AP-2 cis element, and showed that KRT5 and KRT7 deficiency could prevent the migration but not proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells. Finally, tissue microarray results indicated that KRT5 and KRT7 were highly expressed in ovarian cancer and positively correlated with FoxM1 expression. TCGA database showed that high expression of KRT5 and KRT7 could significantly reduce the survival rate of patients with ovarian cancer. The above results clarify the specific downstream molecular network of FoxM1 to promote the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer, and provide a basis experiment for the judgment of ovarian cancer prognosis and the design of drug targets.