作为在胚胎发育中起关键作用的转录抑制因子，PAX4在肿瘤中的作用逐步被研究人员所重视，迄今对PAX4与结肠癌的关系及其功能仍知之甚少。我们的预实验结果提示PAX4与结肠癌的侵袭和转移有关。进一步的研究显示，PAX4可能通过在转录水平抑制miR-381（miR381）的表达，进而促进Neuropilins-2 (NRP2) 的过表达。而NRP2此前已被证实在多种肿瘤的侵袭与转移中起重要功能。为此，我们推测：PAX4-miR381-NRP2轴可能在结肠癌的侵袭与转移中发挥重要作用。为了验证这一假说，我们将通过结肠癌细胞系及动物模型，采用Chip，RNAi，荧光素酶报告系统以及慢病毒表达载体等手段，从不同的水平和方面探讨PAX4-miR381-NRP2轴在结肠癌侵袭与转移中的作用。本研究将为揭示结肠癌侵袭与转移提供新的思路，并可能为进一步的临床应用研究提供新的潜在靶标。

PAX4 gene is a regulator of tissue development and cellular differentiation in embryos, acting to promote cell proliferation, cell-lineage specification, migration and survival. Researchers have paying attention to the key function of PAX4 gene in many tumors. So far, the precise role that PAX4 gene has in colon cancer is still unclear. Our previous results suggest that there is an association between PAX4 gene and metastasis of colon cancer. Further studies shown that PAX4 can transcriptional repress the expression of miR-381 and thus contribute to Neuropilins-2 (NRP2) overexpression. The NRP2 gene has been shown previously to play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Therefore, we presume that PAX4-miR-381-NRP2 axis may play an important role in invasion and metastasis of colon cancer. To test this hypothesis, we will identified the mechanism of PAX4-miR-381-NRP2 axis in colon cancer invasion and metastasis by using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (CHIP), RNAi, luciferase reporter, lentiviral vector system, and other methods. These data may provide new perspectives on the mechanisms of invasion and metastasis of colon cancer, and provide some new potential targets for further clinical studies.