Development and differentiation of the intestinal epithelium appear to be regulated by various growth factors. Using cDNA microarrays, we identified heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) as one of the genes induced by intestinal-specific transcription factor Cdx2 in an intestinal undifferentiated rat cell line, intestinal epithelial cell (IEC)-6. Both Cdx2 and HB-EGF stimulated cell p...

The role of Achaete scute-like 2 (Ascl2) in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell differentiation is unknown. LS174T, HT-29 and Caco-2 cells have high Ascl2 expression, while Lovo and SW480 cells have low Ascl2 expression. LS174T and HT-29 cells with Ascl2 knockdown were transfected with caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2) promoter constructs and used for luciferase assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation (C...

BACKGROUND The Wnt and BMP signaling pathways are involved in the morphogenesis of both gastrointestinal and choroid plexus epithelium. In the intestine, Wnt signaling represses the expression of the tumor suppressor gene CDX2 via SOX9, a transcription factor, which is also expressed in the choroid plexus. Recently, an inverse correlation between CDX2 expression and tumor grade, tumor stage and...

A longstanding question in mammalian development is whether the divisions that segregate pluripotent progenitor cells for the future embryo from cells that differentiate into extraembryonic structures are asymmetric in cell-fate instructions. The transcription factor Cdx2 plays a key role in the first cell-fate decision. Here, using live-embryo imaging, we show that localization of Cdx2 transcr...

BACKGROUND Approximately 20% of all colorectal cancers are hypothesized to arise from the "serrated pathway" characterized by mutation in BRAF, high-level CpG Island Methylator Phenotype, and microsatellite instability/mismatch repair (MMR)-deficiency. MMR-deficient cancers show frequent losses of Cdx2, a homeodomain transcription factor. Here, we determine the predictive value of Cdx2 expressi...

PURPOSE The homeodomain transcription factor CDX2 is a relatively specific immunohistochemical marker for gastrointestinal carcinoma. However, no study has comprehensively examined the relationship between CDX2 expression in colon cancer and clinical, pathologic, prognostic, and molecular features, including microsatellite instability and CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP). EXPERIMENTAL D...

CONTEXT Although identification of the primary tumor in patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma has a profound clinical impact, diagnosing the organ of origin is frequently difficult. Because none of the individual immunohistochemical markers used for tissue identification are both site specific and site sensitive, multiple markers are needed to improve the prediction of primary sites. OBJECT...

Caudal-related homeobox protein 2 (CDX2), a tumor suppressor in the adult colon, is overexpressed under a non-cancer specific cytomegalovirus promoter in certain tumor cells; furthermore, non-specific expression of CDX2 may result in aberrant side effects in normal cells. The human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) promoter is active in the majority of cancer cells but not in normal cell...

Loss of caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2) is associated with the development of human colorectal cancer, while human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) frequently occurs in variety of human cancers. We investigated the effects of restoration of CDX2 expression using a hypoxia-inducible hTERT promoter-driven vector (pLVX-5HRE-hTERTp-CDX2-3FLAG) on colon cancer cell viability, cell cycle distri...

In adult mammals, CDX2 acts as a transcription factor and is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Down-regulation of CDX2 is frequently observed in colorectal cancer, suggesting its loss may cause dedifferentiation of gastrointestinal epithelial cells. However, it is not clear whether inherited variants of CDX2 are associated with risk of colorectal cancer. Using epidemiologic data and tum...