negatively regulates the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in colorectal cancer through the Wnt signaling pathway.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors and is associated with a high mortality rate due to the lack of specific biomarkers available for early diagnosis, targeted therapies, and prognostic surveillance. In the present study, we investigated the function of and its underlying mechanism in CRC. Immunohistochemical staining and clinicopathological analysis were used to assess the expression of and its clinical significance in patients with CRC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, cell proliferation, Western blot, wound healing, Transwell, and TOP/FOP flash reporter assays were used to investigate the function of and its underlying mechanism in CRC. expression was downregulated and negatively correlated with the depth of invasion, tumor size, metastasis, TNM stage, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in CRC specimens. negatively regulates the EMT, proliferation, invasion, migration, and the Wnt signaling pathway in vitro, as well as tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, activation of the Wnt signaling pathway by Wnt-3A negated the effect of overexpression, whereas inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway by IWR-1 impaired the effect of the knockdown on the EMT. We concluded that downregulation is a common event in patients with CRC and is closely correlated with cancer progression and a poor prognosis. functions as a tumor suppressor in CRC, and its tumor suppressor function is mediated by negative regulation of the EMT through the Wnt signaling pathway. We investigate the function of and its underlying mechanism in colorectal cancer through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, cell proliferation, Western blot, wound healing, Transwell, and TOP/FOP flash reporter assays. We conclude that can negatively regulate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition through the Wnt signaling pathway to inhibit the development of colorectal cancer.