Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths throughout the world. Angiopoietin-like-4 (Angptl4), a member of the angiopoietin family of secreted proteins, is frequently expressed in the perinecrotic areas of different human tumors, yet its role is still unclear in colorectal cancer. Angptl4 mRNA expression in primary colorectal cancer tissue and seven colon cancer cell lines was measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR; the influence of Angptl4 expression on the colon cancer cell lines was investigated by either overexpression or knockdown of Angptl4 in colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and HT29, respectively. The results showed that Angptl4 mRNA is frequently expressed in human colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of Angptl4 promoted cell migration, F-actin reorganization and formation of pseudopodia. Further investigation showed that high Angptl4 expression was associated with an increase in ezrin/radixin/moesin and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein expression and a decrease in E-cadherin expression. These results indicate that overexpression of Angptl4 may promote invasion and metastasis in CRC.

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