| Autor: |
Huang WS; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.; Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, Taiwan., Wu KL; Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan., Chen CN; Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 600, Taiwan., Chang SF; Department of Medical Research and Development, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, Taiwan.; Center for General Education, Chiayi Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi 613, Taiwan., Lee DY; Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan., Lee KC; Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan. |
| Abstrakt: |
Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become a prevalent and deadly malignancy over the years. Drug resistance remains a major challenge in CRC treatment, significantly affecting patient survival rates. Obesity is a key risk factor for CRC development, and accumulating evidence indicates that increased secretion of adipokines, including Visfatin, under obese conditions contributes to the development of resistance in CRC to various therapeutic methods. Amphiregulin (AREG) is a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, which activates the EGF receptor (EGFR), influencing multiple tumorigenic characteristics of cancers. Abnormal expression levels of AREG in cancer cells have been associated with resistance to anti-EGFR therapy in patients. However, it remains unclear whether this abnormal expression also impacts CRC resistance to other chemotherapeutic drugs. The aim of this study is to examine whether AREG expression levels could be affected in CRC cells under Visfatin stimulation, thereby initiating the development of resistance to 5-fluororacil (5-FU). Through our results, we found that Visfatin indeed increases AREG expression, reducing the sensitivity of HCT-116 CRC cells to 5-FU cytotoxicity. Moreover, AREG upregulation is regulated by STAT3-CREB transcription factors activated by JNK1/2 and p38 signaling. This study highlights the significant role of AREG upregulation in CRC cells in initiating chemotherapeutic resistance to 5-FU under Visfatin stimulation. These findings provide a deeper understanding of drug resistance development in CRC under obese conditions and offer new insights into the correlation between an abnormal increase in AREG levels and the development of 5-FU-resistance in CRC cells, which should be considered in future clinical applications. |
