Fig. 8: Plectin positively correlates with Rap2B and predicts malignant progression of CRC.

A, B Immunoblots analysis of Rap2B and plectin using lysates from colon epithelial cells of Rap2B^IEC-WT and Rap2B^IEC-KO mice in the CRC induction model. C, D IHC staining for plectin in colons from Rap2B^IEC-WT and Rap2B^IEC-KO mice with CRC induction model (n = 5). E, F Phalloidin staining for F-actin in colons from Rap2B^IEC-WT and Rap2B^IEC-KO mice with CRC induction model (n = 5; 2 images/mice). G Representative images of mouse liver tissue with metastatic tumors and H&E staining on liver tissue sections. The black dashed lines indicate the tumor borders. H Quantification of metastatic tumor areas (n = 5). I, J Representative images and quantifications of IHC staining for plectin and Rap2B in liver metastasis sections (n = 5). K, L Representative images and IHC intensity analysis using plectin antibody in 179 human colon cancer and 161 adjacent normal colon tissue. M Representative images of Rap2B and plectin expressions in Rap2B-low case and Rap2B-high case are presented. N Correlation between plectin and Rap2B expression were examined using Pearson correlation coefficient test (n = 360). O Correlation between plectin and Rap2B expression were examined by Fisher’s exact test. Percentages of high level of plectin expression correlated with pathological type (P), tumor sizes (Q), and depth of invasion (R) were examined by χ2 test. S High plectin expression correlated with overall survival for 979 patients with CRC (High plectin patients 617, Low plectin patients 362) (P = 0.0055, log-rank test). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 by 2-tailed unpaired t test.