Analysis of Colorectal Carcinogenesis Paradigm between Cold Constitution and Heat Constitution: Earlier ECM Collagen Deposition

Feifei Nong; Yuqi Liang; Shangping Xing; Huixuan Li; Xizheng Lin; Jingchun Qin; Fengliang Hu; Bin Wen

doi:10.1155/2021/5547578

Analysis of Colorectal Carcinogenesis Paradigm between Cold Constitution and Heat Constitution: Earlier ECM Collagen Deposition

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Jul 17:2021:5547578. doi: 10.1155/2021/5547578. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Feifei Nong^#¹, Yuqi Liang^#², Shangping Xing³, Huixuan Li¹, Xizheng Lin¹, Jingchun Qin¹, Fengliang Hu⁴, Bin Wen¹

Affiliations

¹ Pi-Wei Institute, Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² The Second Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510282, China.
³ Research Center of Chinese Herbal Resource Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicinal Resource from Lingnan, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China.
⁴ The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor around the world. Studying the unique constitution of CRC patients is conducive to the application of personalized medical treatment for CRC. The most common types of constitution in CRC are cold and heat constitution. A previous study has suggested that the malignant progression in cold and heat constitution CRC are different; however, the mechanism remains unclear. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is likely to vary with each individual constitution, which may affect the tumor growth in different constitutions. The extracellular matrix (ECM), the most important component of TME, plays a critical role in disease progression and outcome in patients with CRC. Moreover, collagen, the major component of the ECM, determines the main functional characteristics of ECM and tissue fibrosis caused by collagen deposition, which is one of the signs of CRC malignant progression. This study aimed to explore the mechanisms leading to different colorectal carcinogenesis paradigms between the cold constitution and heat constitution within the context of ECM collagen deposition. We established the CRC rat models and enrolled 30 CRC patients with cold and heat constitution. The collagen-related parameters were detected by using Sirius red staining combined with polarized light microscope, and expressions of collagen (COL I and COL III) and lysyl oxidase (LOX and LOXL2) were determined using immunohistochemistry, while the mRNA levels of COL1A1, COL3A1, LOX, and LOXL2 were measured by qRT-PCR. We found that a higher degree of collagen deposition in the cold-constitution group. The results suggest cold and heat constitution may affect the colorectal carcinogenesis paradigm by influencing the early collagen deposition in colon tissue. The study may provide an effective idea for clinicians to improve the prognosis of CRC patients with different constitutions.