Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 28, 2023; 29(24): 3770-3792
Published online Jun 28, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i24.3770
Mechanism of ELL-associated factor 2 and vasohibin 1 regulating invasion, migration, and angiogenesis in colorectal cancer
Ming-Liang Feng, Ming-Jun Sun, Bo-Yang Xu, Meng-Yuan Liu, Hui-Jing Zhang, Can Wu
Ming-Liang Feng, Ming-Jun Sun, Bo-Yang Xu, Meng-Yuan Liu, Hui-Jing Zhang, Can Wu, Department of Endoscopy, The First Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Feng ML and Sun MJ designed the research study; Feng ML and Wu C performed the research; Zhang HJ and Liu MY contributed new reagents and analytic tools; Feng ML and Xu BY analyzed the data; Feng ML and Wu C wrote the manuscript; and all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province, No. 2023-MS-149.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University (approval No. 2021-68-2).
Informed consent statement: The informed consent was waived from the patients.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Data can be acquired from the corresponding author.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Can Wu, PhD, Associate Research Scientist, Attending Doctor, Department of Endoscopy, The First Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, No. 155 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang 110000, Liaoning Province, China. wucanydyy@163.com
Received: January 18, 2023
Peer-review started: January 18, 2023
First decision: March 26, 2023
Revised: April 8, 2023
Accepted: May 12, 2023
Article in press: May 12, 2023
Published online: June 28, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

More and more studies have suggested that the anti-angiogenic factor vasohibin 1 (VASH1) is not only expressed in the stroma of tumor cells, but also expressed in tumor cells. It also plays a certain role in the regulation of tumor growth, invasion and tumor microenvironment. Recent studies have found that ELL-associated factor 2 (EAF2) can mediate signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) pathway to act on colorectal cancer (CRC). Knockdown of VASH1 enhanced TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway activity and type I/III collagen production.

Research perspectives

Further study on the effect and mechanism of EAF2-mediated VASH1 on endothelial cells in tumor microenvironment may help to elucidate the pathogenesis of CRC. The synergistic effect of VASH1-related pathway anti-angiogenesis therapy and immunotherapy may become a new idea for CRC treatment.

Research conclusions

This study suggests that EAF2 and VASH1 may serve as new diagnostic and prognostic markers for CRC. It complements the mechanism of EAF2 in CRC cells, enriches the role and mechanism of CRC cell-derived VASH1, and provides a new possible subtype of CRC as a therapeutic target of STAT3/TGF-β1 pathway.

Research results

Our findings indicated that EAF2 was down-regulated and VASH1 was up-regulated in advanced CRC tissue compared to normal colorectal tissue. Overexpression of EAF2 might inhibit the activity of STAT3/TGF-β1 pathway by up-regulating the expression of VASH1, thereby attenuating the invasion, migration and angiogenesis of CRC cells.

Research methods

We collected colorectal adenocarcinoma and corresponding adjacent tissues in patients with advanced CRC. Following, we investigated the effect and mechanism of EAF2 and VASH1 on the invasion, migration and angiogenesis of CRC cells in vitro using plasmid transfection.

Research objectives

To investigate the expression of VASH1 in CRC and its correlation with the expression of EAF2. Furthermore, we explored the functional role and mechanism of EAF2 and VASH1-mediated TGF-β1 related pathway in CRC cells.

Research motivation

Detection of EAF2 and VASH1 protein expression in CRC tissues may help to explore new diagnostic and prognostic markers for CRC. The study of the potential mechanism of EAF2 and VASH1 can provide new ideas for the treatment of CRC.