FXR1 knockdown inhibits the malignant behavior of colorectal cancer by suppressing epithelial-tomesenchymal transition

Purpose: To determine the role of Fragile X-related protein-1 (FXR1) in colon cancer progression and its relationship to patients’ survival.Methods: A total of 164 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China between 2006 and 2008, were included in this study. Immunohistochemistry was used to semi-quantitatively analyze the intensity and extent of immunological staining of diaminobenzidine-stained paraffin blocks of CRC samples. The study also retrieved COAD mRNA and patients’ clinical data from TCGA and cultured human colon cancer cell lines (SW480, SW620, HCT8, HCT116, and Caco2) in RPMI 1640 medium to assess the propensity of CRC cells to proliferate, invade the tumorigenicity in BALB/c nude mice.Results: The prognosis of CRC patients was inversely linked with the expression of FXR1. Additionally, FXR1 knockdown in CRC cells reduced cellular growth, colony development and tumorigenesis. After presenting BALB/c nude mice with tumors in FXR1 knockdown, the cells displayed higher E-cadherin levels (p < 0.01) as well as decreased TGF-1 (p < 0.01) and N-cadherin levels (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Fragile X-related protein-1 is an oncogene in colon cancer and its knockdown inhibits HCT116 cells from behaving malignantly. Thus, FXR1 is a potential treatment option for CRC.