title: Cortactin promotes colon cancer progression by regulating ERK pathway.
abstract: Cortactin is upregulated in various cancers including breast cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and gastric cancer. However, the role of cortactin in the pathogenesis of colon cancer remains unclear. mRNA expression of cortactin in colon cancer samples and cell lines was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), while protein expression of cortactin in colon cancer tissues and adjacent non-cancer tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The role of cortactin in regulation of the proliferation of colon cancer derived cells were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. In the total of 60 paired colon cancer specimens, compared with the adjacent non-cancer tissues, the expression of cortactin mRNA was upregulated in 45 (75.0%). Immunohistochemical analysis showed significantly increased cortactin expression in colon cancer (42/60, 70.0%) compared to control tissues (18/60, 30.0%). Overexpression of cortactin promoted HCT116 cellular colony formation and tumor growth. Conversely, cortactin knockdown inhibited these effects in SW480 cells. Mechanistic analyses indicated that cortactin was able to activate the EGFR-ERK signaling pathway. Additionally, cortactin expression was associated with tumor size, tumor stages and lymphatic invasion, increased cortactin expression predicts poor prognosis in patients with colon cancer. In summary, cortactin demonstrated the promotive effect in human colon cancer cell growth and tumorigenicity. These results indicated that cortactin may serve as an effective target for gene therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qing-Feng
authors.initials: QF
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jia-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Nai-Zhi
authors.initials: NZ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-Jia
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051356:Cortactin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D045325:HCT116 Cells; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C495868:CTTN protein, human; D051356:Cortactin