Related Experiment Video For a disintegrin and metalloprotease-17
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Studying the Stoichiometry of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Intact Cells using Correlative Microscopy
Published on: September 11, 2015
Deoxycholic acid activates epidermal growth factor receptor and promotes intestinal carcinogenesis by
Wenxiao Dong1, Li Liu1, Yan Dou1
1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Abstract:
High fat diet is implicated in the elevated deoxycholic acid (DCA) in the intestine and correlated with increased colon cancer risk. However, the potential mechanisms of intestinal carcinogenesis by DCA remain unclarified. Here, we investigated the carcinogenic effects and mechanisms of DCA using the intestinal tumour cells and Apcmin/+ mice model. We found that DCA could activate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and promote the release of EGFR ligand amphiregulin (AREG), but not HB-EGF or TGF-α in intestinal tumour cells. Moreover, ADAM-17 was required in DCA-induced promotion of shedding of AREG and activation of EGFR/Akt signalling pathway. DCA significantly increased the multiplicity of intestinal tumours and accelerated adenoma-carcinoma sequence in Apcmin/+ mice. ADAM-17/EGFR signalling axis was also activated in intestinal tumours of DCA-treated Apcmin/+ mice, whereas no significant change occurred in tumour adjacent tissues after DCA exposure. Conclusively, DCA activated EGFR and promoted intestinal carcinogenesis by ADAM17-dependent ligand release.
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