TGFβ induced factor homeobox 1 promotes colorectal cancer development through activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling

// Ji-Lian Wang 1 , Zhen Qi 2 , Ye-Hua Li 2 , Hong-Mei Zhao 1 , Ye-Guang Chen 2 and Wei Fu 1 1 Department of General Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China 2 The State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China Correspondence to: Wei Fu, email: fuwei@bjmu.edu.cn Keywords: colorectal cancer, TGIF1, Wnt signaling, β-catenin, TGF-β Received: March 24, 2017      Accepted: June 20, 2017      Published: July 26, 2017 ABSTRACT Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers, but the mechanisms underlying its initiation and progression are largely unknown. TGIF1 (TGFB induced factor homeobox 1) is a transcriptional corepressor that belongs to the three-amino acid loop extension (TALE) superclass of atypical homeodomains. It has been reported that TGIF1 is highly expressed in mammary cancer and non-small cell lung cancer and can enhance tumor progression. However, the role of TGIF1 in colorectal cancer remains unknown. Here, we report that TGIF1 is significantly upregulated in colorectal cancers, and its high expression predicts poor prognosis. Overexpression of TGIF1 markedly promotes the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells both in vivo and in vitro . In addition, TGIF1 activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and the homeodomain is indispensable for Wnt activation and β-catenin interaction. Taken together, our results suggest that TGIF1 is a novel colorectal tumor promoter and indicate that TGIF1 enhances colorectal cancer tumorigenesis through activating Wnt signaling.