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Correlated downregulation of VDR and CYP3A4 in colorectal cancer

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Abstract

Background

The evidence obtained from experimental studies suggests the tumor-suppressive effects of vitamin D by controlling the differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis in cancerous cells. Furthermore, the deregulation of genes involved in vitamin D metabolism has been reported in several types of cancer.

Methods

In the present study, we investigated the expression level of vitamin D metabolic pathway genes, including VDR, CYP3A4, RXRα, and GC, in colorectal cancer (CRC) samples compared with the adjacent tissues by using quantitative RT-PCR.

Results

The results indicated significant downregulation of CYP3A4 and VDR genes in CRC tissues compared with the adjacent control tissues (p < 0.01). RXRA and GC expression levels did not show any significant alteration among the studied samples. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between the expression level of CYP3A4 and VDR genes (p < 0.0001). ROC curve analysis also revealed the potential diagnostic power of CYP3A4 and VDR genes in CRC samples.

Conclusion

Reduction in the expression of both CYP3A4 and VDR plays an important role in CRC due to the possible impairment in vitamin D metabolism. Further studies concerning the relationship between the expression of these genes and colorectal cancer pathogenesis and treatment are recommended.

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Data availability

The data supporting this study's findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Research Department of the School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Pajoohan code: 26158).

Funding

The study was financially supported by the “Research Department of the School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences” (Pajoohan code: 26158).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Genomic Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hossein Sadeghi

  2. Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Koodakyar St, Velenjak Ave, Chamran Highway, 19395-4719, Tehran, Iran

    Veys Hashemnia, Mohammad Reza Ghasemi & Reza Mirfakhraie

  3. Department of Gastrointestinal Cancer, Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ehsan Nazemalhosseini-Mojarad

  4. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Mirfakhraie

Authors
  1. Hossein Sadeghi
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  2. Veys Hashemnia
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  3. Ehsan Nazemalhosseini-Mojarad
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Contributions

HS, and RM contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by ENM and MRG. HS wrote the first draft of the manuscript. RM and VH revised the final version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reza Mirfakhraie.

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Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest associated with this manuscript.

Ethical approval

This research was conducted in compliance with the ethical principles of the Helsinki Declaration and under the protocols of the Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (IR.SBMU.MSP.REC.1400.141).

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Informed consent was taken from all the patients who participated in this study.

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Sadeghi, H., Hashemnia, V., Nazemalhosseini-Mojarad, E. et al. Correlated downregulation of VDR and CYP3A4 in colorectal cancer. Mol Biol Rep 50, 1385–1391 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-08141-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-08141-2

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