Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal tumor worldwide, which is a severe malignant disease that threatens mankind. Cathepsin G (CTSG) has been reported to be associated with tumorigenesis, whereas its role in CRC is still unclear. This investigation aims to determine the function of CTSG in CRC. Our results indicated that CTSG was inhibited in CRC tissues, and patients with CTSG low expression have poor overall survival. Functional experiments revealed that CTSG overexpression suppressed CRC cell progression in vitro and in vivo, whereas CTSG suppression supports CRC development cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, CTSG overexpression suppressed Akt/mTOR signaling mechanism and elevated apoptotic-associated markers, and CTSG silencing activated Akt/mTOR signaling mechanisms and inhibited apoptotic-associated markers. Furthermore, the Akt suppression signaling pathway by MK2206 abolishes CTSG-silenced expression-induced cell viability and Bcl2 up-regulation in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, these outcomes demonstrate that CTSG may act as a tumor suppressor gene via Akt/mTOR/Bcl2-mediated anti-apoptotic signaling inactivation, and CTSG represents a potential therapeutic target in CRC.

Background: The cell division cycle-associated (CDCA) protein family plays a pivotal role in the regulation of the cell cycle during tumorigenesis and predicts the prognosis of tumors, but an analysis of these proteins in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is still lacking.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant disease that is a serious threat to human health. Rutaecarpine (RUT) is an important bioactive alkaloid of Evodia rutaecarpa. According to previous studies, RUT suppressed the proliferation of several human tumors. However, its role in colorectal tumorigenesis remained unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the functions of RUT in CRC. Here, we have demonstrated that RUT inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of CRC cells in vitro. Further, RUT was found to induce the apoptosis of CRC cells. Mechanistically, RUT decreased the phosphorylation levels of NF-κB and STAT3. Moreover, treatment with RUT upregulated the expression of cleaved-Caspase3 and downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 in CRC. In addition, our findings suggested that RUT inhibited the growth and lung metastasis of CRC Cells in vivo. Based on immunofluorescence analysis, the expression of Ki67 was downregulated while that of cleaved-Caspase3 was upregulated in RUT-treated tumors compared with control-treated tumors. Taken together, our findings indicate that RUT can inhibit the proliferation and migration of CRC cells, and induce the apoptosis of CRC cells by inactivating NF-κB/STAT3 signaling. Our study highlights the potential clinical application of RUT for the treatment of CRC.