Background
Colon cancer ranks third among global tumours and second in cancer-related mortality, prompting an urgent need to explore new therapeutic targets. C6orf15 is a novel gene that has been reported only in Sjogren's syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus patients. We found a close correlation between increased C6orf15 expression and the occurrence of colon cancer. The
Conclusion
Our study identified C6orf15 as a marker of liver metastasis in CRC. C6orf15 can activate the WNT/β-catenin signalling pathway to promote EMT and fatty acid metabolism in CRC.
Results
C6orf15 was significantly associated with liver metastasis and survival in CRC patients as determined by the bioinformatic analysis and further verified by immunohistochemistry (IHC), qPCR and western blot results. The upregulation of C6orf15 expression in CRC cells can promote the nuclear translocation of β-catenin and cause an increase in downstream transcription. This leads to changes in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and alterations in fatty acid metabolism, which together promote liver metastasis of CRC.