Identification of HOX gene which suppresses hepatic metastasis of colon cancer

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In this study, we examined the roles of HOXD8 in three steps of hepatic metastasis of human colon cancer to demonstrate anti-metastatic function of HOXD8. We found the following: the cells highly invasive of subendothelial basement membrane showed higher expressions of HOXD8 than those weakly invasive; there was no correlation between adhesiveness of the cells to hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells and the expression levels of HOXD8; the cells growing in the liver of nude mice expressed HOXD8 at higher levels than those growing in the cecum. These results suggested that HOXD8 functioned as a metastasis-enhancing or –suppressive gene depending on the step where the cells were during hepatic metastasis.