C20orf27 Promotes Cell Growth and Proliferation of Colorectal Cancer via the TGFβR-TAK1-NFĸB Pathway

• Main Authors: Jing Gao, Yang Wang, Weixia Zhang, Jing Zhang, Shaohua Lu, Kun Meng, Xingfeng Yin, Zhenghua Sun, Qing-Yu He
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: Cancers
• Subjects: crc; <i>c20orf27</i>; growth; proliferation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/2/336
• ISSN: 2072-6694

<i>Background</i>: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a high incidence of malignant tumors that lacks highly effective and targeted drugs and thus it is in urgent need of finding new specific molecular targets. <i>Methods and Results</i>: In this study, by using WST-1 (Highly water-soluble tetrazolium salt-1) and colony formation assays, we found that <i>C20orf27</i> (chromosome 20 open reading frame 27), a functionally unknown protein, enhanced the growth and proliferation of CRC cells. The nude mouse tumor formation experiments verified that <i>C20orf27</i> promoted the growth of CRC. Signal pathway analysis identified the TGF&#946;R-TAK1-NFĸB cascade as a mediator in <i>C20orf27</i>-induced CRC progression. Inhibition experiments using NFĸB inhibitors reversed this progression. Co-immunoprecipitation showed that <i>C20orf27</i> promoted the activation of the TGF&#946;R-TAK1-NFĸB pathway by interacting with PP1c (the catalytic subunit of type 1 phosphatase). <i>Conclusions</i>: Our results firstly characterized the functional role and molecular mechanism of <i>C20orf27</i> in driving CRC growth and proliferation through the TGF&#946;R-TAK1-NFĸB pathway, suggesting its potential as a novel CRC candidate therapeutic target and tumor marker.