Abstract
Metastasis is the primary cause of mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC), the mechanism of which remains unclear. In the present study, by detecting mRNA expression using a reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), it was revealed that sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) is highly expressed in CRC. Using a cell wound healing assay and a cell invasion assay, a novel metastasis-promoting role for SREBP1 in CRC was identified. Furthermore, snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAIL) was identified as a key downstream effector of SREBP1 in CRC by the use of small interfering RNA against SNAIL. Additionally, using co-immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR assays, it was demonstrated that SREBP1 interacts with c-MYC to enhance the binding of c-MYC to the promoter of the mesenchymal gene, SNAIL, thereby increasing SNAIL expression and accelerating epithelial-mesenchymal transition. These results indicated a novel role for SREBP1 and provide insight into the regulatory mechanisms of the c-Myc oncogene in CRC, which may function as a potential therapeutic target for CRC treatment.