Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and immunofluorescence were conducted to determine the mRNA and protein levels of Lasp-1 and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) in SW480 cells as well as tumor and adjacent normal tissues obtained from 20 patients with colorectal carcinoma.
Further studies found that miR-1 can target the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of LIM and SH3 protein 1 (LASP1) mRNA and suppress the expression of LASP1, identified as a CRC-associated protein.
These findings elucidate the central role of LASP1 in the TGFβ-mediated EMT process and suggest a potential target for the clinical intervention in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
Additional studies showed that miR-133a can target the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of LIM and SH3 protein 1 (LASP1) mRNA and suppress the expression of LASP1, which we identified in previous studies as a CRC-associated protein.
Overexpression of LASP-1 was found in metastatic CRC tissues (p=0.002), and its expression level was closely correlated with overall survival of patients with CRC (p=0.002).