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Updated: Mar 10, 2026
Evaluation of Colorectal Cancer Risk and Prevalence by Stool DNA Integrity Detection
Published on: June 8, 2020
DNA-Sensing and Nuclease Gene Expressions as Markers for Colorectal Cancer Progression
Chin-An Yang1, Hsi-Yuan Huang, Ya-Sian Chang
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Objective:
Oncogene-driven stress-related DNA damage has been observed in lesions of colon cancer. Furthermore, DNA sensors and nucleases are stimulated during active DNA damage and replication. However, their changes and influences with respect to cancer remain largely unknown.
Methods:
The gene expression levels of cGAS, IFI16, STING, TBK1, IFNB1, TREX1, SAMHD1, RNASEH2A, RNASEH2B, and RNASEH2C were examined in the paired colorectal cancer and adjacent normal part tissues of 53 patients. Their associations with the clinical stages of cancer were then analyzed.
Results:
All cytosolic DNA-sensing and nuclease-related genes except cGAS, RNASEH2A, and RNASEH2B showed lower mRNA expressions in the colorectal tumor tissues. Moreover, cGAS upregulation was found to be associated with early-stage colorectal cancers, while higher expressions of RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, and SAMHD1 correlated with metastasis. RNASEH2C knockdown in a colon cancer cell line impaired cell migration, and analysis of the cancer RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database revealed a negative correlation between RNASEH2C expression and E-cadherin levels.
Conclusions:
In contrast to DNA-sensing events in viral infections or autoimmunity, cGAS-STING-IFNB signaling is disrupted in colorectal cancer. The expression levels of cGAS, RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, and SAMHD1 could be prognostic markers of colorectal cancer.
Insights
DNA sensing and nuclease gene expression is altered in colorectal cancer. Specific genes like cGAS, RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, and SAMHD1 may serve as important prognostic markers for colon cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Oncogene activation in colon cancer causes DNA damage.
- DNA sensors and nucleases are implicated in DNA damage response but their role in cancer is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression patterns of DNA sensing and nuclease genes in colorectal cancer.
- To determine the association of these genes with clinical stages and patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Gene expression analysis of cGAS, IFI16, STING, TBK1, IFNB1, TREX1, SAMHD1, RNASEH2A, RNASEH2B, and RNASEH2C in 53 paired colorectal tumor and normal tissues.
- Correlation analysis with clinical cancer stages and metastasis.
- Functional study using RNASEH2C knockdown in colon cancer cells and TCGA data analysis.
Main Results:
- Most DNA sensing and nuclease genes showed decreased expression in tumors, except for cGAS, RNASEH2A, and RNASEH2B.
- cGAS upregulation correlated with early-stage cancers.
- RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, and SAMHD1 expression linked to metastasis; RNASEH2C knockdown impaired cell migration.
Conclusions:
- The cGAS-STING-IFNB signaling pathway is disrupted in colorectal cancer.
- cGAS, RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, and SAMHD1 expression levels show potential as prognostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer.
