Abstract
Background/Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) in colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSCs). Materials and Methods: We used the TU12 cell line possessing CD133-expressing CCSCs. After isolating CD133 (−) and CD133 (+) CCSCs, we overexpressed and knocked-down TGM2 to investigate its role in human CCSCs. Results: The expression level of TGM2 was 25-fold higher in tumorigenic cells than non-tumorigenic cells. We found that knockdown of TGM2 by specific RNA interference markedly inhibited cell growth and caused down-regulation of the stemness markers, CD133, SOX2, and β-catenin. We further demonstrated that knockdown of TGM2 inhibited cell metastatic abilities by down-regulating N-cadherin and vimentin and up-regulating E-cadherin. These findings revealed that TGM2 expression is markedly increased in human colorectal cancer and that down-regulation of TGM2 in tumors may serve as a treatment for colorectal cancer patients. Therefore, this study indicate that TGM2 affects the metastatic potential and stemness of CCSCs by regulating EMT- and stemness-related proteins. Conclusion: The metastatic potential of CSCs arises from highly expressed TGM2.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 787-794 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Anticancer research |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 Feb |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by a Grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Korean government (MSIP) (NRF-2015R1D1A1A01058303) and the Grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI15C1665).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 International Institute of Anticancer Research. All Right Reserved.
Keywords
- CCSC
- EMT
- Stemness
- TGM2
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research
