Abstract
RNA-binding proteins play critical roles in RNA processing and are aberrantly expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC). Through comprehensive analysis of multiple gene expression datasets (GSE20916, GSE18105, GSE21510, TCGA-COAD and TCGA-READ), NCBP2 was identified as a potential tumorigenic gene in CRC. NCBP2 expression was significantly elevated in CRC tissues, correlated with tumour invasion and metastasis, and associated with poor patient survival outcomes. Furthermore, overexpression of NCBP2 in CRC cells was shown to increase cell proliferation, migration, and tumour invasion in both in vitro and in vivo models. Mechanistically, the NCBP2 protein stabilised LIPG mRNA via direct binding to the m7G motif in the 5’-cap structure of LIPG mRNA, thereby increasing LIPG expression. Additionally, NCBP2 promoted lipid droplet accumulation in CRC cells in a LIPG-dependent manner. These findings collectively suggest that the NCBP2-LIPG-lipid droplet axis represents a novel mechanism underlying CRC progression and metastasis, providing a promising therapeutic target for CRC treatment.
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Data availability
All uncropped blots are provided in Supplementary information. The source data behind the graphs in the manuscript can be found in Supplementary Data 1. Data related to mRNA sequence analysis have been deposited in the GEO, and the accession number is GSE270402. All other data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the USTC Research Funds of the Double First-Class Initiative (No. YD9110002066), the Research Funds of the Centre for Leading Medicine and Advanced Technologies of IHM (2023IHM01092), and the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (2308085QC84).
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Liu Liu, X.X. Wang and Lin Liu designed the study; Liu Liu, W. Lu, S.Y. Miao, Y.Yu and X.B. Zhang conducted the experiments and analysed the data; Liu Liu, W. Lu, Y. Yu and S.Y. Miao prepared the figures and drafted the manuscript. S.D. Ye and Lin Liu reviewed and revised the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Liu, L., Lu, W., Miao, S. et al. NCBP2 drives colorectal cancer growth and metastasis through LIPG-mediated lipid droplet accumulation. Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09903-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09903-5
