Expression of trefoil factors and TWIST1 in colorectal cancer and their correlation with metastatic potential and prognosis

Figure 3 The mRNA and protein expression of TFF1, TFF3, TWIST1, E-cadherin, vimentin, and β-catenin in colon cancer cell lines with different invasion potentials. The expression of TFF3 and TWIST1 in cancer cell lines was higher than that in normal human intestinal epithelial cell line, and the expression intensity was inclined to rise with the increase in metastatic potential both at protein and mRNA levels. But TFF1 expression had the opposite tendency. The TFF1 protein and mRNA expression decreased and TWIST1 and TFF3 expression increased gradually with the increase in metastatic potential of cell lines. E-cadherin and β-catenin expression tended to decrease, while vimentin and TWIST1 expression was inclined to rise with the increase in metastatic potential. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01.