Abstract
Metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) to the liver reduces the five‐year survival rate to less than 12% and is the major cause of death from CRC. Metastasis occurs due to productive collaborations between tumor cells and host‐derived cells in the tumor microenvironment. A pre‐metastatic niche is created to prime for cancer cell invasion into the target organ. In Balb/c mice bearing cecal tumors derived from a highly metastatic CRC cell line, microarray analysis revealed that lipocalin‐2 (LCN2) is the most highly expressed protein in the liver prior to metastasis. Western blot analysis and examination of blood serum by ELISA illustrated increased levels of LCN2 as tumors progressed into metastasis. RT‐PCR analysis showed that greater levels of LCN2 mRNA were found in highly metastatic cells as compared to less metastatic CRC cells. Our results show that LCN2 is highly associated with the development of colorectal cancer metastasis to the liver, with increased levels indicating advanced stages of metastatic progression.Center for Colon Cancer Research, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
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