RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Expression and Role of Aquaporin 4 in Colon Cancer
JF Anticancer Research
JO Anticancer Res
FD International Institute of Anticancer Research
SP 567
OP 573
DO 10.21873/anticanres.16845
VO 44
IS 2
A1 YAMAMOTO, ATSUSHI
A1 SHIMIZU, HIROKI
A1 TAKIGUCHI, KOICHI
A1 SHODA, KATSUTOSHI
A1 SHIRAISHI, KENSUKE
A1 FURUYA, SHINJI
A1 AKAIKE, HIDENORI
A1 KAWAGUCHI, YOSHIHIKO
A1 AMEMIYA, HIDETAKE
A1 KAWAIDA, HIROMICHI
A1 MOCHIZUKI, KUNIO
A1 KONDO, TETSUO
A1 ICHIKAWA, DAISUKE
YR 2024
UL http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/44/2/567.abstract
AB Background/Aim: Aquaporins (AQPs) were initially discovered as water channel proteins that facilitate transcellular water movements. Recent studies have shown that AQPs are expressed and play an oncogenic role in various cancers. However, the expression and role of Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) in colon cancer have not been investigated. This study aimed to examine the clinical and pathophysiologic significance of AQP4 in colon cancer. Patients and Methods: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of AQP4 for 145 primary tumor samples obtained from patients with stage II or III colon cancer was performed, and the relationship between AQP4 expression and patients’ prognoses was analyzed. Knockdown experiments with AQP4 small interfering RNA using human colon cancer cells were conducted to analyze the effects on cell invasiveness. Results: IHC revealed that AQP4 was scarcely expressed in the noncancerous colonic mucosa. Of the 145 patients who enrolled in this study, 109 (75.2%) and 36 (24.8%) patients were classified as negative and positive for AQP4 expression, respectively. A high level of AQP4 expression is significantly associated with deeper tumors with lymph node metastasis and venous invasion. A 5-year progression-free survival rate of AQP4-positive patients was significantly worse than that of AQP-4 negative patients (70.7% vs. 87.0%, p=0.049). Furthermore, AQP4 knockdown significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion in HCT116 cells. Conclusion: AQP4 may be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for colon cancer.