The Embryonic Stem Cell-Specific Transcription Factor ZFP57 Promotes Liver Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer

Background The embryonic stem cell-specific transcription factor, ZFP57, has been shown to play an important role in tumor formation. In this study, we examined if ZFP57 is involved in colorectal cancer metastasis. Materials and methods First, we used colorectal cancer cell lines to perform in vivo metastatic experiments with nude mice. Next, we carried out immunohistochemical analysis of clinical specimens of colorectal cancers. Results In liver metastatic experiments using human colorectal cancer HT29 and HCT116 cells, liver polymetastases occurred at high frequency in ZFP57-overexpressing HT29 and HCT116 cells, whereas both control cells only resulted in oligometastases. Next, we analyzed ZFP57 expression using clinical specimens. Liver metastasis-positive cases were more frequently associated with ZFP57 overexpression than negative cases in primary lesions of colorectal cancer, and the overexpression was particularly remarkable in tumor invasive lesions. Furthermore, ZFP57 overexpression was significantly correlated not only with liver metastasis but also with lymph node metastasis. In addition, the expression level of ZFP57 was significantly correlated with that of the metastasis-related gene NANOG. We also found that ZFP57 overexpression reduced the progression-free survival rate of patients with colorectal cancer. Conclusions This study demonstrated that ZFP57 plays an important role in the hematogenous metastasis of colorectal cancer, suggesting that it could be used as a novel treatment target.