Methylmalonic acid promotes colorectal cancer progression via activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway mediated epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Cancer Cell International

Research

Pengfei Liu¹  Feiyu Lu²  Xiaoting Shi²  Ping Yu²  Qiyun Tang²  Chunhua Hu²  Jinhao Chen²  Mujie Ye²  Tiaotiao Chen²  Jianan Bai² 

[1] Department of Gastroenterology, Jiangyin People’s Hospital, Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China;Department of Geriatric Gastroenterology, Neuroendocrine Tumor Center, Jiangsu Province Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Institute of Neuroendocrine Tumor, Nanjing Medical University, NO. 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, China;

关键词: Colorectal cancer;    Age;    Methylmalonic acid;    Epithelial–mesenchymal transition;    Wnt;    β-catenin;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12935-023-02973-z

 received in 2023-04-05, accepted in 2023-06-20,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIt has been manifested in several studies that age-related metabolic reprogramming is associated with tumor progression, in particular, colorectal cancer (CRC). Here we investigated the role of upregulated metabolites of the aged serum, including methylmalonic acid (MMA), phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), and quinolinate (QA), in CRC.MethodsFunctional assays including CCK-8, EdU, colony formation and transwell experiments were used to ascertain which upregulated metabolite of elderly serum was related to tumor progression. RNA-seq analysis was conducted to explore the potential mechanisms of MMA-induced CRC progression. Subcutaneous tumorigenesis and metastatic tumor models were constructed to verify the function of MMA in vivo.ResultsAmong three consistently increased metabolites of the aged sera, MMA was responsible for tumorigenesis and metastasis in CRC, according to functional assays. The promotion of Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) was observed in CRC cells treated with MMA, on the basis of protein expression of EMT markers. Moreover, combined with transcriptome sequencing, Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was activated in CRC cells treated with MMA, which was verified by western blot and qPCR experiments. Furthermore, animal assays demonstrated the pro-proliferation and promotion of metastasis role of MMA in vivo.ConclusionWe have identified that age-dependent upregulation of MMA in serum promoted the progression of CRC via Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway mediated EMT. These collective findings provide valuable insights into the vital role of age-related metabolic reprogramming in CRC progression and propose a potential therapeutic target for elderly CRC.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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