Extracellular domain of EpCAM enhances tumor progression through EGFR signaling in colon cancer cells

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is highly expressed in colon cancers, but its role in cancer progression remains to be elucidated. In this work, we found that the extracellular domain of EpCAM (EpEX) activated EGFR and downstream ERK1/2 signaling to promote colon cancer cell migration and proliferation, as well as tumor growth. Mechanistically, we discovered that EpEX-EGFR-ERK1/2 signaling positively regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) of EpCAM and shedding of the intracellular domain (EpICD).

Source: Cancer Letters - July 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kang-Hao Liang, Hsien-Cheng Tso, Shao-Hsi Hung, I.-I. Kuan, Jun-Kai Lai, Feng-Yi Ke, Yi-Ting Chuang, I-Ju Liu, Yi-Ping Wang, Ruey-Hwa Chen, Han-Chung Wu Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research