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Published on: July 21, 2018
LASP2 suppresses colorectal cancer progression through JNK/p38 MAPK pathway meditated epithelial-mesenchymal
Bin Wang1,2, Lanzhi Zhang1,3, Liying Zhao2
1Department of Pathology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Background:
LASP2 (LIM and SH3 Protein 2) is a small focal adhesion protein belongs to nebulin protein family. As the newest member of nebulette family, the function of LASP2 remains to be identified.
Methods:
The relationship between LASP2 expression and clinical characteristics of CRC was analyzed in 89 paraffin-embedded archived CRC specimens by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The effects of LASP2 on cell growth and migration were examined in vitro, using CCK-8 and transwell assays. Western blotting was performed to examine the impact of LASP2 on the SAPK/JNK and MAPK signaling pathways.
Results:
In the present study, we observed a decreased LASP2 expression in clinical colorectal cancer samples compared with paired normal tissues. A negative correlation was also found between LASP2 and poor prognosis of CRC patients. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches revealed that LASP2 plays inhibitory effects on the growth and migration of human CRC cells in vitro. Western-blot results showed that LASP2 could attenuate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to accomplish its suppression on CRC aggression. In LASP2 knocked down CRC cells, EMT was inhibited along with the inactivation of JNK/p38 MAPK pathway. Consistently, treatment of JNK inhibitor (JNK inhibitor II) together with p38 inhibitor (SB203580) could resume the process of EMT. Interestingly, we found a negative relationship between LASP2 and LASP1 expression in both CRC cell lines and tumors tissues, which suggests their converse function in CRC progression.
Conclusions:
All the findings indicated that LASP2 may play a significant role in suppressing CRC progression and provided a novel biomarker for CRC therapy.
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