Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Mar 15, 2020; 12(3): 267-275
Published online Mar 15, 2020. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i3.267
Changes in extracellular matrix in different stages of colorectal cancer and their effects on proliferation of cancer cells
Zhu-Lin Li, Zhen-Jun Wang, Guang-Hui Wei, Yong Yang, Xiao-Wan Wang
Zhu-Lin Li, Zhen-Jun Wang, Guang-Hui Wei, Yong Yang, Department of General Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
Xiao-Wan Wang, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China
Author contributions: Wang ZJ designed the experiments; Li ZL, Wei GH, Yang Y, and Wang XW performed the research; Li ZL wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All experimental manipulations were undertaken in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Institutes of Health), and the study was approved by Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co, Ltd.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhen-Jun Wang, MD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Surgeon, Surgical Oncologist, Department of General Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital. Capital Medical University, No.8 Gongti nan Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China. drzhenjun@163.com
Received: August 1, 2019
Peer-review started: August 1, 2019
First decision: August 27, 2019
Revised: January 12, 2020
Accepted: February 7, 2020
Article in press: February 7, 2020
Published online: March 15, 2020
Processing time: 224 Days and 7.2 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The extracellular matrix is not only the substantial support for tumor cells but also promotes the occurrence and development of tumors.

Research motivation

The extracellular matrix changes in the structure and composition during the process of oncogenesis and development of tumors. However, little is known about the changes of the extracellular matrix in different stages of colorectal cancers and the effect of these changes on the development of colorectal cancer. The answer to this may provide a new platform for the future design of anticancer drugs.

Research objectives

In this study, the authors aimed to study the changes of the extracellular matrix in different stages of colorectal cancer and the relationship between the changes of the extracellular matrix with the proliferation of cancer cells.

Research methods

The extracellular matrix was obtained by acellular technology from 60 colorectal cancer patients. Type I collagen, type IV collagen, MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-3 were analyzed by Western blot. Besides, the extracellular matrix and the cancer cells were co-cultured in vivo and in vitro to study the effect of the extracellular matrix on the cancer cell proliferation.

Research results

The expression of type I collagen, MMP-2, and MMP-9 increased with increased tumor stage. The expression of type IV collagen and TIMP-3 decreased with increased tumor stage. The changed extracellular matrix promotes the cancer cell proliferation.

Research conclusions

This study showed that the extracellular matrix plays an important role in the development of tumor and this provides a certain theoretical basis for anti-tumor therapy.

Research perspectives

The tumor microenvironment is a complex system. The extracellular matrix obtained by decellularization provides an ideal tumor model to study the occurrence and development of tumor.