Plays a Pivotal Role in Colorectal Cancer Progression via the Dual Regulation of Cell Cycle and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

BACKGROUND

Cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 like () has been demonstrated to mediate the cell cycle in cancer cells. However, it is unknown whether CKAP2L impacts colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of in CRC.

METHODS

and regulatory factor X 5 () expression profiles in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) and rectal adenocarcinoma (READ) were analyzed in UALCAN. Human colorectal adenocarcinoma epithelial cells, DLD1, were transfected with small interfering RNA targeting and -overexpressing vectors (OE-CKAP2L). The interaction between and was identified by dual-luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)- and protein kinase B/mammalian target of the rapamycin (AKT/mTOR) pathway-associated proteins were evaluated by western blotting.

RESULTS

and expression was increased in CRC based on the UALCAN database. downregulation inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT while promoting G1/S phase arrest ( < 0.01). knockdown downregulated expression and mediated the inactivation of the AKT/mTOR pathway ( < 0.001). acted as an upstream transcription factor of . overexpression attenuated the restriction of downregulation on CRC cell malignant phenotypes ( < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

transcriptionally activated by accelerates CRC proliferation and metastasis by promoting the cell cycle and EMT. This study provides potential molecular targets for treating CRC.