Aim: This study aimed to investigate the role of MARCH2 (membrane-associated RING-CH2) in the progression, invasion, and migration of colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: In this study, the expression levels of MARCH2 and E-cadherin in CRC tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry through retrospective study, and their correlation was analyzed. After silencing the MARCH2 gene using SiRNA MARCH2-1/-2, the invasion and migration abilities of SW480 cells were detected using Transwell and Scratch assay, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting assays were performed to detect the expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related markers. Results: As compared to adjacent tissues, the MARCH2 expression level was significantly overexpressed in the CRC tissues, and correlated with tumor size, pathological grade, lymph node metastasis, and survival time. MARCH2 was negatively correlated with E-cadherin. MARCH2 silencing significantly restrained the invasion and migration abilities of SW480 cells in vitro. Meanwhile, the MARCH2 silencing also upregulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of E-cadherin and downregulated those of Vimentin. Conclusions: The high expression of MARCH2 was unfavorable for patients' survival. Thus, MARCH2 might be an independent predictor for CRC patients, affecting the invasion and metastasis of CRC through EMT.
Keywords: CRC; E3 ubiquitin ligase; MARCH2; invasion; migration.