In a study appearing online on June 16 in advance of print publication in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Punita Dhawan and colleagues from Vanderbilt University report increased expression of claudin-1 in human primary colon carcinomas and metastases. They also found that instead of being normally expressed in the cell membrane, claudin-1 was instead located in the colon cancer cell nucleus and cytoplasm. Those cancer cells that metastasized from the primary tumor site were found to express the highest levels of claudin-1 and also exhibited a greater degree of claudin-1 mislocalization. Using genetically manipulated colorectal cancer cells, the authors demonstrate a role for claudin-1 in the regulation of cellular transformation, tumor growth, and spread and identify, in part, the cellular pathways involved in claudin-1 overexpression.
These observations raise the possibility that claudin-1 may be exploited as a potential biomarker for colon cancer progression and may also provide new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
TITLE: Claudin-1 regulates cellular transformation and metastatic behavior in colon cancer
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Punita Dhawan
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Phone: (615) 322-4755; Fax: (615) 322-6174; E-mail: punita.dhawan@vanderbilt.edu
View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=24543
Journal
Journal of Clinical Investigation