Rock2 stabilizes β-catenin to promote tumor invasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer.
Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 2 (Rock2) is an effector for the small GTPase Rho and plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. However, the effect of Rock2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) still remains unclear. In this study, we found that Rock2 expression was markedly increased in clinical CRC tissues compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues. High expression of Rock2 was correlated with tumor metastasis and poor prognosis in CRC. In addition, the knockdown of Rock2 suppressed the invasion and metastasis of CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we found that the β-catenin/TCF4 pathway contributed to the effects of Rock2 in CRC cells, and Rock2 stabilized β-catenin by preventing its ubiquitination and degradation. Taken together, this novel pathway for β-catenin control plays a biologically relevant role in CRC metastasis.
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Engineering Research Center of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Yumin
Y
Qiu
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Engineering Research Center of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Rongfa
R
Yuan
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China.
Shouhua
S
Zhang
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Engineering Research Center of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Leifeng
L
Chen
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Engineering Research Center of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Da
D
Huang
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Engineering Research Center of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Haibin
H
Hao
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Engineering Research Center of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nanchang, 330006, China; Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Nanchang, 330006, China. Electronic address: shao5022@163.com.
Jianghua
J
Shao
D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
D051176:beta Catenin; C515852:ROCK2 protein, human; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases
Colorectal cancer; Invasion; Metastasis; Rock2; β-catenin