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World J Gastroenterol. Mar 21, 2026; 32(11): 115393
Published online Mar 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i11.115393
Published online Mar 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i11.115393
LIM domain only protein 7 promotes metastasis in colorectal cancer by TGF-β/ZEB1 pathway
Xue Bai, Xue-Mei Li, Xia Chen, Department of Gastroenterology, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu 610500, Sichuan Province, China
Xue Bai, Xue-Mei Li, Xia Chen, Key Laboratory of Digestive Microecology Medicine of Sichuan Health Commission, Chengdu 610500, Sichuan Province, China
Xue Bai, Xue-Mei Li, Xia Chen, Key Laboratory of Digestive System Tumors and Microenvi
Bo Zheng, Juan-Dan Wang, Xiao-Hua Huang, Shu-Mei Fu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Sichuan Nursing Vocational College (The Third People's Hospital of Sichuan Province), Chengdu 610100, Sichuan Province, China
Co-first authors: Xue Bai and Bo Zheng.
Author contributions: Bai X and Zheng B performed formal analysis and investigation as co-first authors; Li XM, Wang JD, Huang XH and Fu SM performed data curation; Chen X was responsible for supervision, project administration and funding acquisition, wrote the original draft; all authors contributed to conceptualization, methodology and review, read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, No. CYFY-GQ47; Health Commission of Chengdu, No. 2024253; Chengdu Medical College, No. 24LHXHZW1-04; and Project of “CMC Talents” Peak Plan of Chengdu Medical College, No. 2024kjTzn06.
Institutional review board statement: Sample collection and research were approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College (No. 2023CYFYIRB-BA-Feb001), and strictly adhered to the ethical principles outlined in the 2013 revised version of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki for human-related research.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All animal experimental protocols were approved by the Laboratory Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Chengdu Medical College (No. 2023056), and were performed in accordance with GB/T 35892-2018 (Guidelines for Welfare and Ethical Review of Laboratory Animals) and the ARRIVE Guidelines. Animals were housed in a specific pathogen-free facility to ensure compliance with animal welfare standards, minimizing stress and suffering during the experiment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: The authors declared that all data supporting the conclusions of this research is available.
Corresponding author: Xia Chen, MD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Gastroen
Received: October 20, 2025
Revised: November 22, 2025
Accepted: December 30, 2025
Published online: March 21, 2026
Processing time: 150 Days and 8.4 Hours
Revised: November 22, 2025
Accepted: December 30, 2025
Published online: March 21, 2026
Processing time: 150 Days and 8.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: LIM domain only protein 7 (LMO7) is upregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC), and is correlated with clinical stage and metastasis. It promotes CRC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor metastasis. transforming growth factor-β induces LMO7 expression by upregulating zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1, which binds to the LMO7 promoter, forming a transforming growth factor-β/zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1/LMO7 axis that drives CRC progression, highlighting LMO7 as a potential therapeutic target for CRC.