These studies demonstrate that HIF-2α is a novel regulator of neutrophil recruitment to colon tumors and that it is essential in shaping the protumorigenic inflammatory microenvironment in colon cancer.
Functional analysis of cellular proliferative activities, by MTT assay, and invasive potential, by Transwell assay, was conducted on SW620 cells expressing low levels of miR‑185. miR‑185 was found to be significantly downregulated in cancer tissues compared with adjacent non‑cancerous tissues, and was negatively correlated with lymph node metastasis of colon cancer (P<0.001). miR‑185 overexpression in vitro impeded cellular proliferation and invasive potential with reduced expression of HIF‑2α, PCNA and MMP‑2 in SW620 cells transfected with an miR‑185 mimic.
Together, our findings show that a chronic increase in HIF-2α in the colon initiates protumorigenic signaling, which may have important implications in developing preventive and therapeutic strategies for colon cancer.