Association between the expression levels of TAZ, AXL and CTGF and clinicopathological parameters in patients with colon cancer

Abstract

Abstract.Colon cancer accounts for a large proportion of all the cancer -associated morbidities worldwide. Genetic analysis and stratification of patients based on survival may identify genetic signatures potentially useful for prognostic or treatment planning purposes. Previous studies have reported that the messenger (m)RNA expression levels of tafazzin (TAZ), AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were able to predict the survival of patients with colon cancer in two independent colon cancer datasets. However, limited clinicopathological data were available from these two datasets. By contrast, a large colon cancer dataset comprising 566 patients has been recently published in the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which contains data regarding tumor stage and location, and genetic status of mismatch repair (MMR), Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS), B-Raf proto-oncogene serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) and tumor protein p53 (TP53). In the present study, the mRNA expression levels of TAZ, AXL and CTGF were evaluated, and the TAZ-AXL-CTGF signature was correlated with the available pathological parameters and survival data. Overexpression of TAZ, AXL and CTGF was observed to be associated with severe pathological stage, deficiency in MMR, colon cancer subtype C4 and mutations in the BRAF gene. In addition, overexpression of TAZ-AXL-CTGF was associated with short overall survival in patients with mutations in the TP53 gene, colon cancer subtype C6, proficient MMR and wild-type status of the KRAS and BRAF genes. Furthermore, the prognostic value of TAZ-AXL-CTGF overexpression was observed to be independent of all the clinicopathological parameters and mutational statuses analyzed. The results of the present study confirm the previously reported findings, and suggest that the TAZ-AXL-CTGF mRNA signature is a potential prognostic indicator in colon cancer.

Tafazzin (TAZ) promotes the tumorigenicity of cervical cancer cells and inhibits apoptosis

“…The overexpression of TAZ in SiHa cells could enhance cell growth in vitro and in vivo , and reduced expression of TAZ in SiHa and HeLa cells could inhibit cell growth in vitro and in vivo (Figs 2 and 3). It has been previously reported that strong expression of the TAZ protein is related to rectal cancer development and RT response[16]. Our results in vitro and in vivo also support the hypothesis that TAZ is a tumor enhancer in cervical cancer.…”

“…In recent years, TAZ has been observed to be overexpressed in several tumors, including thyroid carcinoma[18], rectal cancer[17], and colon cancer[16], suggesting it may function as a promoter in tumorigenesis. However, to date, the expression and mechanism of the involvement of TAZ in cervical cancer have not been thoroughly investigated.…”

Colon cancer subtypes: concordance, effect on survival and selection of the most representative preclinical models

“…Similarly to our results, the overexpression of CTGF was associated with shorter overall survival in multiple colon cancer subgroups16. Likewise, high expression of FAP has also been described to lead to poor patient prognosis17.…”

α‐enolase promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis via regulating AMPK/mTOR pathway in colorectal cancer

“…Although multimodal and combining therapeutic approaches including surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have been employed in different tumor stages, the mortality with impairment of life quality of life is still rising. CRC is a heterogeneous disease and accumulation of multiple underlying causative genetic mutations such as serine/threonine‐protein kinase B‐Raf (BRAF) or Neuroblastoma RAS (NRAS) is seen as a molecular biological basis of colorectal cancer. However, the definitive identification of biological factors driving the progression of colon cancer remains elusive.…”