Objective  To study the expression of B23 in human colon cancer tissues and its role on invasion in colon cancer cells.

  Methods  A total of 31 patients with colon cancer, who were admitted to the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from 2000 to 2005 were enrolled in the current study. Immunohistochemical assay was used to analyze the expression of B23 in colon cancer, para-neoplastic tissues of the cancer, and lymph nodes tissues. Statistical analysis of the immunohistochemical results was conducted using the SPSS 17.0 software. The expression orB23 in different colon cancer cell lines was determined by Western blot. In addition, the small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology was utilized to down-regulate the expression orB23 in the HCT116 cells. The invasive ability of the colon cancer cells was observed after the knock down of B23 via the Transwell assay.

  Results  Immunohistostaining results revealed that the expression of B23 was higher in colon cancer than in the paraneoplastic tissues. Statistically significant differences between the expression of B23 in the colon cancer and lymph nodes were noted and compared with the paraneoplastic tissues adjacent to the colon cancer. The P values were 0.0016 and 0.0007, respectively. Western blot assay confirmed that the B23-specific siRNA could effectively knock down the expression of B23, and the decrease of the B23 expression notably inhibited the invasive ability of the colon cancer cells.

  Conclusion  B23 showed high expression in colon cancer and lymph node metastasis. The knockdown of B23 can inhibit the migration capability of the colon cancer cells. B23 may play an important role in the progression and metastasis of colon cancer.