scholarly journals Empty Spiracles Homeobox 2 (EMX2) Inhibits the Invasion and Tumorigenesis in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Author(s):  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Gang Cao ◽  
Qing-gong Yuan ◽  
Jun-hui Li ◽  
Wen-Bin Yang

Empty spiracles homeobox 2 (EMX2) is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor that plays an essential role in tumorigenesis. However, to the best of our knowledge, the role of EMX2 in human colorectal cancer (CRC) is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression and role of EMX2 in CRC. Our results demonstrated that the expression of EMX2 was greatly decreased in CRC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of EMX2 significantly inhibited the proliferation in vitro and CRC tumor growth in nude mice. In addition, EMX2 also inhibited the migration and invasion of CRC cells. Mechanically, overexpression of EMX2 downregulated the expression levels of β-catenin, cyclin D1, and c-Myc in CRC cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates that EMX2 inhibits proliferation and tumorigenesis through inactivation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in CRC cells. Therefore, EMX2 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC.

Author(s):  
Ping Zhao ◽  
Hai-Tao Guan ◽  
Zhi-Jun Dai ◽  
Yu-Guang Ma ◽  
Xiao-Xu Liu ◽  
...  

Sparc/osteonectin, cwcv, and kazal-like domains proteoglycan (testican) 1 (SPOCK1), known as testican-1, were found to be involved in the development and progression of tumors. However, in colorectal cancer (CRC), the expression pattern of SPOCK1 and its functional role remain poorly investigated. In the present study, we explored the role of SPOCK1 in CRC. Our results demonstrated that SPOCK1 is overexpressed in CRC cell lines. SPOCK1 silencing significantly inhibited the proliferation in vitro and the tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, SPOCK1 silencing significantly attenuated the migration/invasion by reversing the EMT process in CRC cells. Finally, knockdown of SPOCK1 obviously decreased the protein expression levels of p-PI3K and p-Akt in HCT116 cells. In total, our study demonstrated for the first time that knockdown of SPOCK1 inhibits the proliferation and invasion in CRC cells, possibly through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, SPOCK1 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 1665-1678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangwei Zhu ◽  
Qiang Huang ◽  
Wei Zheng ◽  
Yongjian Huang ◽  
Jin Hua ◽  
...  

Background and Aim: Lipopolysaccharide(LPS) could promote the progression of colorectal cancer, but the specific regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown. So, this study aim to clarify the mechanisms that LPS upregulated VEGFR-3, which promotes colorectal cancer cells migration and invasion with a mechanism of increased NF-κB bind to the promoter of VEGFR-3. Methods: The present study examined the VEGFR-3 expression in colorectal cancer tissues and analyzed the relationship between the VEGFR-3 expression with clinical parameters. PCR, Western blot, CCK-8, colone formation assay, and Transwell assay detected that LPS promoted the migration and invasion and the role of VEGFR-3 in the process of colorectal carcinoma in vitro. Used the methods of promoter analysis, EMSA assay and ChIP assay to explore the mechanisms LPS increased the expression of VEGFR-3. Results: VEGFR-3 was significantly high expression in the colorectal cancer tissues. And the high expression was associated with the TNM stage and lymph node metastasis of colorectal cancer. LPS could promote the migration and invasion, which could be blocked by the neutralizing antibody IgG of VEGFR-3. And found that -159 nt to +65 nt was the crucial region of VEGFR-3 promoter. And detected that the NF-κB was important transcription factor for the VEGFR-3 promoter. And LPS could increase NF-κB binding to VEGFR-3 promoter and upregulated the expression of VEGFR-3 to exert biological functions. Conclusion: We have elucidated the relationship between LPS and the VEGFR-3 expression and revealed that VEGFR-3 play very important role in the process of LPS promoting the migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells. Further illuminated the mechanism that LPS upregulated VEGFR-3 expression via increased NF-κB bind to the promoter of VEGFR-3.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Mareike Lüttgenau ◽  
Christin Emming ◽  
Thomas Wagner ◽  
Julia Harms ◽  
Justine Guske ◽  
...  

AbstractLoss of apical-basal polarity and downregulation of cell-cell contacts is a critical step during the pathogenesis of cancer. Both processes are regulated by the scaffolding protein Pals1, however, it is unclear whether the expression of Pals1 is affected in cancer cells and whether Pals1 is implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease.Using mRNA expression data and immunostainings of cancer specimen, we show that Pals1 is frequently downregulated in colorectal cancer, correlating with poorer survival of patients. We further found that Pals1 prevents cancer cell metastasis by controlling Rac1-dependent cell migration through inhibition of Arf6, which is independent of the canonical binding partners of Pals1. Loss of Pals1 in colorectal cancer cells results in increased Arf6 and Rac1 activity, enhanced cell migration and invasion in vitro and increased metastasis of transplanted tumor cells in mice. Thus, our data reveal a new function of Pals1 as a key inhibitor of cell migration and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells. Notably, this new function is independent of the known role of Pals1 in tight junction formation and apical-basal polarity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Jin ◽  
Yunhe Chen ◽  
Dan Cheng ◽  
Zhikai He ◽  
Xinyi Shi ◽  
...  

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers. The role of autophagy in the pathobiology of CRC is intricate, with opposing functions manifested in different cellular contexts. The Yes-associated protein (YAP), a transcriptional coactivator inactivated by the Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway, functions as an oncoprotein in a variety of cancers. In this study, we found that YAP could negatively regulate autophagy in CRC cells, and consequently, promote tumor progression of CRC in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, YAP interacts with TEAD forming a complex to upregulate the transcription of the apoptosis-inhibitory protein Bcl-2, which may subsequently facilitate cell survival by suppressing autophagy-related cell death; silencing Bcl-2 expression could alleviate YAP-induced autophagy inhibition without affecting YAP expression. Collectively, our data provide evidence for YAP/Bcl-2 as a potential therapeutic target for drug exploration against CRC.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasamin Dabiri ◽  
Sara Kalman ◽  
Clara-Marie Gürth ◽  
Jee Young Kim ◽  
Viola Mayer ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 629-638
Author(s):  
N. N. Bahari ◽  
S. Y. N. Jamaludin ◽  
A. H. Jahidin ◽  
M. N. Zahary ◽  
A. B. Mohd Hilmi

The transient receptor potential vanilloid member 4 (TRPV4) is a non-selective calcium (Ca2+)-permeable channel which is widely expressed in different types of tissues including the lungs, liver, kidneys and salivary gland. TRPV4 has been shown to serve as a cellular sensor where it is involved in processes such as osmoregulation, cell volume regulation and thermoregulation. Emerging evidence suggests that TRPV4 also plays important roles in several aspects of cancer progression. Despite the reported roles of TRPV4 in several forms of cancers, the role of TRPV4 in human colorectal cancer remains largely unexplored. In the present study, we sought to establish the potential role of TRPV4 in colorectal cancer by assessing TRPV4 expression levels and investigating whether TRPV4 pharmacological modulation may alter cell proliferation, cell cycle and cell death in colorectal cancer cells. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that TRPV4 mRNA levels were significantly lower in HT-29 cells than normal colon CCD-18Co cells. However, TRPV4 mRNA was absent in HCT-116 cells. Pharmacological activation of TRPV4 with GSK1016790A significantly enhanced the proliferation of HT-29 cells while TRPV4 inhibition using RN 1734 decreased their proliferation. Increased proliferation in GSK1016790A-treated HT-29 cells was attenuated by co-treatment with RN 1734. Pharmacological modulation of TRPV4 had no effect on the cell cycle progression but promoted cell death in HT-29 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest differential TRPV4 expression levels in human colorectal cancer cells and that pharmacological modulation of TRPV4 produces distinct effects on the proliferation and induces cell death in HT-29 cells.


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