Original ArticlesSMC1A recruits tumor-associated-fibroblasts (TAFs) and promotes colorectal cancer metastasis

- Colorectal liver metastasis stroma existed TAFs derived from blood circulation.
- The SMC1A expression level in colorectal cancer cells influenced TAFs recruitment.
- Fluorescent model of mice confirmed the recruitment process for TAFs.
- TNF-α, IL-1β, MMP2 and VEGF-β may be involved in the process of TAFs recruitment.

Tumor-associated-fibroblasts (TAFs) are the most important host cells in the stroma and take part in extracellular matrix construction and cancer colony development. During cancer colonization, seed cells from primary tumor can reconstruct the microenvironment by recruiting circulating cancer cells and TAFs to the metastasis site. Previous studies have established that SMC1A, a subunit of cohesin, is an important trigger signal for liver metastasis in colorectal cancer. We investigated the particular effects as well as the underlying mechanism of SMC1A on TAFs recruitment during liver metastasis of colorectal cancer. Here, We found that: first, the high expression of SMC1A in colorectal cancer cells promotes the invasiveness and the viability of these cells by recruiting circulating TAFs, facilitating early tumor construction and tumorigenesis; second, different expression levels of SMC1A influenced the reformation of fibroblasts, which assisted tumorigenesis, and third, expression of SMC1A stimulated the secretion of the inflammatory mediators of TNF-α and IL-1β, and up-regulated the transcriptional expression of MMP2 and VEGF-β, both of which were involved in the tumor-related gene pathway.