N-cadherin, a novel prognostic biomarker, drives malignant progression of colorectal cancer

Yan,Xuebing; Yan,Leilei; Liu,Sihong; Shan,Zezhi; Tian,Yuan; Jin,Zhiming

doi:10.3892/mmr.2015.3687

N-cadherin, a novel prognostic biomarker, drives malignant progression of colorectal cancer

Authors:
- Xuebing Yan
- Leilei Yan
- Sihong Liu
- Zezhi Shan
- Yuan Tian
- Zhiming Jin
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Affiliations: Department of Surgery, Sixth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200233, P.R. China
Published online on: April 27, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2015.3687
Pages: 2999-3006

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Abstract

Recent studies have indicated that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key molecular mechanism involved in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). N-cadherin is a mesenchymal marker of the EMT and has been closely linked to several human malignancies. However, its role in CRC has remained elusive. In the present study, qRT‑PCR and western blot analysis indicated that N‑cadherin expression was higher in tumor tissues than in that in their adjacent normal tissues. Immunohistochemical evaluation of N‑cadherin and E‑cadherin (an epithelial marker of the EMT), indicated that N‑cadherin expression was significantly associated with tumor differentiation, tumor size as well as tumor, nodes and metastasis stage. Correlation analysis suggested the expression of N‑cadherin was negatively correlated with that of E‑cadherin in CRC tissues. Kaplan‑Meier analysis indicated that patients with high N‑cadherin expression had a significantly lower overall survival and disease‑free survival rate than those with low N‑cadherin expression, while the opposite was found for E‑cadherin. Of note, the present study found that high N‑cadherin expression was an independent prognostic factor for CRC. In vitro assays showed that N‑cadherin was widely expressed in CRC cell lines and silencing of N‑cadherin suppressed the proliferation and migration of the CRC cell line HT‑29 by upregulating E‑cadherin, suggesting a potential role of N‑cadherin in inducing EMT. In conclusion, the present study suggested that N‑cadherin has the potential of serving as a novel prognostic predictor and a promising therapeutic target for CRC.

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