Current studies have shown that POTE ankyrin domain family members have high expressions as tumor antigens in malignant tumors, such as prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and the like. POTEE is a member of the POTE anchor protein family E. However, its role in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has not been studied. In this study, the function of POTEE in CRC was examined for the first time and its correlation with CRC cell biological behaviors was analyzed. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting, and immunohistochemistry revealed that POTEE was remarkably overexpressed in CRC and associated with an aggressive phenotype. We also found that POTEE was localized in the cytoplasm. In addition, downregulation of POTEE expression can notably inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cell in vitro, and repressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. In contrast, overexpression of POTEE could promote the aggressive behaviors of CRC cells. Mechanistically, POTEE promoted CRC migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by increasing the activation of Rac1 and Cdc42. To summarize, these results suggested that POTEE might serve as an oncogene for CRC tumorigenesis and progression, and may become a novel molecular marker for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

目前的研究表明，POTE锚蛋白结构域家族成员作为肿瘤抗原在前列腺癌、卵巢癌、乳腺癌等恶性肿瘤中具有高表达。POTEE 是 POTE 锚定蛋白家族 E 的成员。然而，尚未研究其在结直肠癌 (CRC) 中的作用。本研究首次考察了POTEE在结直肠癌中的功能，并分析了其与结直肠癌细胞生物学行为的相关性。定量逆转录聚合酶链反应 (qRT-PCR)、蛋白质印迹和免疫组织化学表明 POTEE 在 CRC 中显着过度表达，并与侵袭性表型相关。我们还发现 POTEE 位于细胞质中。此外，下调 POTEE 表达可以显着抑制增殖、迁移、CRC 细胞在体外的侵袭和侵袭，并在体内抑制肿瘤的生长和转移。相比之下，POTEE 的过表达可以促进 CRC 细胞的攻击行为。从机制上讲，POTEE 通过增加 Rac1 和 Cdc42 的激活来促进 CRC 迁移、侵袭和上皮间质转化 (EMT)。总之，这些结果表明 POTEE 可能作为结直肠癌发生和进展的癌基因，并可能成为临床诊断和治疗的新型分子标志物。