Expression of transferrin receptor in colorectal cancer and its effect on the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells
SUN Haiying
JIA Wei
MA Chao
ZHANG Mengqiao
WANG Jing
SHUAI Junfang
Abstract：Objective To investigate the expression of the transferrin receptor(TFRC)in colorectal cancer and assess the impact of its overexpression on the biological functions of colorectal cancer cells.Methods Analysis of TFRC's differential expression in colorectal cancer tissues and its effect on patient prognosis was conducted using the cancer genome atlas(TCGA)database.Further exploration of TFRC's role in colorectal cancer included functional enrichment and single-cell analyses.TFRC was overexpressed in SW480 cells via lentiviral transfection,with overexpression efficiency confirmed by Western blotting.Flow cytometry assessed apoptotic capacity and glutathione level changes across cell groups.Results Bioinformatics analysis indicated significantly higher TFRC expression in colorectal cancer tissues compared to normal tissues(logFC=5.93,P<0.001),with high TFRC expression correlating with lower survival rates(HR=2.32,95%CI:1.52-3.54,P=0.001).Single-gene functional enrichment analysis highlighted TFRC's influence on the cell cycle,cellular senescence,and other signaling pathways.Based on single-cell sequencing,TFRC genes were mainly expressed in tumor cells.In vitro experiments demonstrated reduced apoptosis rates in SW480 cells with TFRC overexpression(2.94±0.01 vs.1.89±0.24,P=0.035).TFRC overexpression was associated with decreased intracellular glutathione levels(0.432±0.012 vs.0.271±0.021,P=0.046).Conclusion This study identifies high TFRC expression in colorectal cancer and its significant association with patients'prognosis.The reduction in apoptosis linked to TFRC overexpression suggests its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.Future research should focus on elucidating the specific mechanisms of TFRC in colorectal cancer progression and its clinical application potential.
Keywords：Colorectal cancerTransferrin receptorApoptosisGlutathione
Publication Date：2025-05-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 432-437 )