ZEB1Expression In CRC Tissues And Its Function In Proliferation And Invasion Of HCT116Cells

Background: Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox1(ZEB1) is highly expressed in manytypes of cancer, and it has been shown to be prognostic in certain cancers. However, theclinical significance of ZEB1in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has not been sufficientlyinvestigated. In this study, we detected ZEB1expression in clinical CRC specimens andanalyzed the correlations between ZEB1expression and other clinicopathological features.We also evaluated its biological function in HCT116colon cancer cells.Methods: Paraffin-embedded specimens from108eligible patients were used toinvestigate the expression of ZEB1by immunohistochemistry. The roles of ZEB1in cellproliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were also examined in HCT116cellsusing siRNA-mediated knockdown of ZEB1.Results: Our results showed that ZEB1was highly expressed in CRC and wassignificantly associated with the TNM (Tumor Node Metastasis) stage. Patients withpositive ZEB1expression showed a trend of having shorter survival times. Using Coxregression analysis, we showed that positive ZEB1expression could be used as anindependent predictor of CRC prognosis. We also found that siRNA-mediated ZEB1 silencing inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore,siRNA-mediated ZEB1silencing increased cell apoptosis in HCT116cells.Conclusions: Positive ZEB1expression can be used as an independent predictor for CRCprognosis. Moreover, because the knockdown of ZEB1can inhibit cell proliferation,migration and invasion and increase cell apoptosis, ZEB1might be used as a therapeutictarget for CRC.