Abstract
BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths. Rho family-interacting cell polarization regulator 1 (RIPOR1) is a new Rho effector protein, and its abnormal expression may be related to various tumors. However, its expression and significance in CRC are still unclear. We aimed to explore its role and potential value in CRC, and to provide a new theoretical basis of prognostic evaluation and targeted therapy for CRC patients. METHODS: Here we investigated the expression and significance of RIPOR1 from public databases by using bioinformatics methods. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to determine protein expression levels of RIPOR1 in CRC patients, and the correlation between RIPOR1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. In vitro cellular experiments were used to explore the role of RIPOR1 in CRC cell lines. RESULTS: Both bioinformatics analysis and IHC results demonstrated that RIPOR1 was significantly overexpressed in CRC, which was associated with a worse prognosis. The microRNA (miRNA) database showed that hsa-miR-625-5p was significantly and negatively correlated with RIPOR1. RIPOR1 may affect immune cell infiltration in CRC. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay revealed that RIPOR1 promoted cell proliferation in CRC. CONCLUSIONS: RIPOR1 has a significant impact on the development and proliferation of CRC, and may be a potential predictive biomarker.