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herg1 Gene and HERG1 Protein Are Overexpressed in Colorectal Cancers and Regulate Cell Invasion of Tumor Cells

¹ Departments of Experimental Pathology and Oncology, and
² Human Pathology and Oncology, University of Firenze, Firenze, Italy;
³ First Division of General Surgery and Transplantation, Careggi Hospital, Firenze, Italy;
⁴ Department of Physiology and Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; and
⁵ Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy

The acquisition of the capacity to invade surrounding tissues confers a more malignant phenotype to tumor cells and is necessary for the establishment of metastases. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cell invasion in human solid tumors such as colorectal cancers could provide not only more sensitive prognostic analyses but also novel molecular targets for cancer therapy.

We report in this article that K⁺ ion channels belonging to the HERG family are important determinants for the acquisition of an invasive phenotype in colorectal cancers. The herg1 gene and HERG1 protein are expressed in many colon cancer cell lines, and the activity of HERG channels modulates colon cancer cell invasiveness. Moreover, the amount of HERG1 protein expressed on the plasma membrane is directly related to the invasive phenotype of colon cancer cells.

Finally, both the herg1 gene and HERG1 protein were expressed in a high percentage of primary human colorectal cancers, with the highest incidence occurring in metastatic cancers, whereas no expression could be detected either in normal colonic mucosa or in adenomas.

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