POTEE promotes colorectal carcinoma progression via activating the Rac1/Cdc42 pathway

Current studies have shown that POTE ankyrin domain family members have high expressions as tumor antigens in malignant tumors, such as prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and the like. POTEE is a member of the POTE anchor protein family E. However, its role in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has not been studied. In this study, the function of POTEE in CRC was examined for the first time and its correlation with CRC cell biological behaviors was analyzed. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting, and immunohistochemistry revealed that POTEE was remarkably overexpressed in CRC and associated with an aggressive phenotype. We also found that POTEE was localized in the cytoplasm. In addition, downregulation of POTEE expression can notably inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cell in vitro, and repressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. In contrast, overexpression of POTEE could promote the aggressive behaviors of CRC cells. Mechanistically, POTEE promoted CRC migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by increasing the activation of Rac1 and Cdc42. To summarize, these results suggested that POTEE might serve as an oncogene for CRC tumorigenesis and progression, and may become a novel molecular marker for clinical diagnosis and treatment.