MCPIP3 as a potential metastasis suppressor gene in human colorectal cancer

Monocyte chemotactic protein induced protein 3 (MCPIP3) belongs to the Cys–Cys–Cys–His (CCCH)-zinc finger protein family and contains a highly conserved CCCH-zinc finger domain and a Nedd4-BP1 YacP nuclease (NYN) domain. Previous studies showed that MCPIP3 inhibits the expression of proinflammatory genes, such as vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, in human endothelial cells, but the roles and functions of MCPIP3 in cancer cells are still unknown. In human colorectal cancer specimens, we found that the messenger RNA expression of MCPIP3 was significantly downregulated in cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues (18/25; average fold change of 8.18). Two cell models were used to demonstrate the anti-migration activity of MCPIP3. First, Tet-on T-REx-293/HA-MCPIP3 cells were used to examine whether MCPIP3 can change epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related gene expressions. Second, we used two human colorectal cancer cell lines, SW620 and HCT116, to prove the role of MCPIP3 in regulating EMT-related gene expressions. We found that overexpression of MCPIP3 inhibited cell migration according to a wound-healing assay and Transwell invasion assay and vimentin expression, and increased E-cadherin expression in these two cell lines. These results suggest that MCPIP3 might play a negative role in cell migration of human colorectal cancer cells.