XCT contributes to colorectal cancer tumorigenesis through upregulation of the MELK oncogene and activation of the AKT/mTOR cascade.

ABSTRACT: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed and deadly malignant tumors globally, and its occurrence and progression are closely related to the poor histological features and complex molecular characteristics among patients. It is urgent to identify specific biomarkers for effective treatment of CRC. In this study, we performed comprehensive experiments to validate the role of xCT expression in CRC tumorigenesis and stemness and confirmed xCT knockdown significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, and stemness of CRC cells in vitro and effectively inhibited CRC tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. In addition, bioinformatic analysis and luciferase assays were used to identify E2F1 as a critical upstream transcription factor of SLC7A11 (the gene encoding for xCT)

SUBMITTER: Tang B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9019093 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature