ArticleBMC cancer2021
Activation of WNT7b autocrine eases metastasis of colorectal cancer via epithelial to mesenchymal transition and predicts poor prognosis.
Article in BMC cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spatiotemporal Profiling Defines the Epithelial and Mesenchymal Transition Window in Embryonic Lung Morphogenesis.Journal of developmental biology · 2026Article
- Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis reveals prognostic significance and immunological roles of WNT gene family in breast cancer.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Evolutionary conservation and cancer implications of the WNT signaling pathway.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Review
- Unleashing Wnts: Wnt Ligands Fuel Cancer Spread.Journal of cancer biology · 2025Article
- WNT7B promotes cancer progression via WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway and predicts a poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- A pan-cancer analysis of Wnt family member 7B in human cancers.Cancer innovation · 2024Article
- Article
- Identification of Critical Genes for Ovine Horn Development Based on Transcriptome during the Embryonic Period.Biology · 2023Article
- Inhibition of Wnt7b reduces the proliferation, invasion, and migration of colorectal cancer cells.Molecular biology reports · 2023Article
- Review
- Wnt signaling in colorectal cancer: pathogenic role and therapeutic target.Molecular cancer · 2022Review
- LINC01315 accelerates the growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of colorectal cancer cells via activating the Wnt/β-catenin signal.Bioengineered · 2022Article
- Monocarboxylate Transporters Are Involved in Extracellular Matrix Remodelling in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.Cancers · 2022Article
- GLRX3, a novel cancer stem cell-related secretory biomarker of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.BMC cancer · 2021Article
- Roles for growth factors and mutations in metastatic dissemination.Biochemical Society transactions · 2021Review
- A Preliminary Study on the Pathogenesis of Colorectal Cancer by Constructing a Hsa-circRNA-0067835-miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network.OncoTargets and therapy · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAberrant activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is one of the most frequent abnormalities in human cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Previous studies revealed pivotal functions of WNT family members in colorectal cancer, as well as their prognostic values. Nevertheless, the prognostic role and mechanisms underlying WNT7b in colorectal cancer development remains unclear.
methodsIn this study, WNT7b expression was measured by immunohistochemical staining of 100 cases of surgically resected human colorectal cancerous tissues as well as matched adjacent normal tissues constructed as tissue microarrays. In vitro studies, we attempted to substantiate the WNT7b expressional pattern previously found in immunohistochemistry staining. We used the colorectal cancer cell-line HCT116 and normal colorectal cell-line FHC for immunofluorescence staining and nuclear/cytoplasmic separated western blotting. We measured epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and migration capacity of HCT116 in the context of WNT7b knocked-down using short interfering RNA. Finally, clinical and prognostic values of WNT7b activation levels were examined.
resultsWNT7b was expressed in the nucleus in adjacent normal tissues. In CRC tissues, nuclear expression of WNT7b was similar; however, membrane and cytoplasmic expression was strikingly enhanced. Consistently, in vitro analysis confirmed the same expression pattern of WNT7b. Compared with FHC cells, HCT116 cells displayed higher levels of WNT7b membrane and cytoplasmic enrichment, as well as higher migration capacity with a sensitized EMT process. Either partial knockdown of WNT7b or blockade of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway reversed EMT process and inhibited the migration of HCT116 cells. Finally, elevated secretion levels of WNT7b were significantly associated with lymphatic and remote metastasis and predicted worse prognosis in the CRC cohort.
conclusionIn summary, we demonstrated that the activation of WNT7b autocrine probably contributes to CRC metastasis by triggering EMT process through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. High levels of WNT7b autocrine secretion predicts poor outcome in patients with CRC. This molecule is a promising candidate for clinical CRC treatments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.