FAM83D knockdown regulates proliferation, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer through inhibiting FBXW7/Notch-1 signalling pathway

•FAM83D was up-regulated in colorectal cancerous tissues and cell lines.•FAM83D knockdown inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation.•FAM83D knockdown promotes colorectal cancer cell apoptosis.•FAM83D knockdown inhibits colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion.•FAM83D knockdown inhibits FBXW7/Notch1 signal pathway.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the digestive system, and in China its incidence is rising in recent years. The FAM83D family with sequence similarity 83, member D is associated with the occurrence and development of various cancers. However, in human colorectal cancer, the biological function of FAM83D and its molecular mechanism are still little known. In our study, we found that FAM83D mRNA expression level was markedly up-regulated in colorectal cancerous tissues when compared with that of adjacent normal colon tissues. We also found that the protein and mRNA expression levels of FAM83D are dramatically increased in human colorectal cancer cell lines, including Caco-2, RKO, DLD-1, HT-29, LoVo, SW480, and HCT116, especially in SW480 and HCT116 cells, when compared with that of human normal colon epithelial cell line (NCM460). Next, in HCT116 and SW480 cells, the biological function of FAM83D was examined. FAM83D-knockdown notably inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation. Cell apoptosis was promoted by FAM83D knockdown. In addition, FAM83D siRNA decreased cell migration and invasion. Moreover, FAM83D knockdown up-regulated the protein expression level of F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 (FBXW7), but diminished the Notch1 protein expression level. It also found that FBXW7 siRNA reverses the suppressive effect of FAM83D knockdown on Notch1 protein expression. Notch1 overexpression reversed the effect of FAM83D knockdown on colorectal cancer cell proliferation, cell migration and invasion. In conclusion, FAM83D knockdown promoted colorectal cancer cell apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation, cell migration and invasion, which might be associated with inhibiting the FBXW7/Notch1 signal pathway. Our findings indicated that FAM83D is a promising molecular target for colorectal cancer treatment.