ARHGEF16 expression correlates with proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells

Background: Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 16 (ARHGEF16) is a newly discovered Rho-family guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) involved in the activation of Rho-family GTPases. However, its roles in colon cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion remain unknown. This study analyzed the expression of ARHGEF16 in colon cancer and explored its biological effects on colon cancer cells, so as to find new therapeutic targets for the treatment of colon cancer. Methods: The expression of ARHGEF16 in colon cancer tissues and cells was detected by bioinformatics analysis, western blot, and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. The effects of overexpression and silencing of ARHGEF16 on the biological behavior of colon cancer cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), cell scratching and Transwell assays. Results: The database showed that ARHGEF16 was highly expressed in colon cancer tissues. Validation with clinical fresh tissue specimens and colon cancer cell lines revealed that ARHGEF16 was highly expressed in both. The proliferation, growth, migration, and invasion ability of colon cancer cell lines increased significantly with the overexpression of ARHGEF16, while silencing ARHGEF16 showed the opposite effect. Conclusions: The expression of ARHGEF16 is closely related to the migration and invasive ability of colon cancer cells, and overexpression of ARHGEF16 promotes the migration and invasion of colon cancer cells and correlates with the metastatic potential of colon cancer.