Study on C/EBPα and FOXC2 expression in colon cancer lesions andpreliminary analysis of their downstream target genes

摘要

Objective: To study the C/EBPα and FOXC2 expression in colon cancer lesions and explore their downstream target genes. Methods: Colon cancer specimens surgically removed in Weinan Central Hospital between March 2014 and February 2017 were selected, and adjacent tissue specimens more than 5cm from tumor lesion margin were selected as control. The RNA in the clinical specimens was extracted and the mRNA expression of C/EBPα, FOXC2 as well as endoplasmic reticulum stress molecules and epithelial-mesenchymal transition molecules were determined. Results: C/EBPα, Bax, Bak, GRP78, PERK and ATF6 mRNA expression levels in colon cancer specimens were significantly lower than those in adjacent samples while FOXC2, FAK, SphK1, N-cadherin and Vimentin mRNA expression levels were significantly higher than those in adjacent specimens;Bax, Bak, GRP78, PERK and ATF6 mRNA expression levels in colon cancer specimens with high C/EBPα expression were significantly higher than those in colon cancer specimens with low C/EBPα expression;FAK, SphK1, N-cadherin and Vimentin mRNA expression levels in colon cancer specimens with high FOXC2 expression were significantly higher than those in colon cancer specimens with low FOXC2 expression. Conclusion: Lowly expressed C/EBPα and highly expressed FOXC2 in colon cancer lesions can inhibit the apoptosis mediated by endoplasmic reticulum stress and promote the cell invasion mediated by epithelial-mesenchymal transition.