ASXL2 promotes colorectal cancer tumorigenesis by inducing cell proliferation

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. ASXL2 is an enhancer of trithorax and polycomb gene, which have been proved to act in many tumor types. The role of ASXL2 in the occurrence and development of tumors have been extensively studied in recent years. However the relationship between ASXL2 and the prognosis of CRC is still unclear.Methods: In this study, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to examine the expression of ASXL2 in CRC tissues. Cells were transfected with siRNAs or lentivirus to regulate the expression of ASXL2. The effects of ASXL2 on proliferation of CRC cells were determined by CCK8 assay.Results: This study demonstrated that ASXL2 was significantly more expressed in CRC specimens relative to the normal adjacent tissues. The upregulation of ASXL2 was related to advanced clinical stages. Patients who exhibited high expression levels of ASXL2 had poorer overall survival, whereas those with low expression of ASXL2 survived longer. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed ASXL2 expression could be considered as an independent prognostic factor for CRC. Inhibition or overexpression of ASXL2 markedly influenced the proliferation of CRC cells.Conclusion: These results showed that ASXL2 could induce cell proliferation which is associated with poor prognosis of CRC patients and might be a new therapeutic target for CRC.