N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase ALKBH5 is best known for modulating transcript modification in plenty of human malignancies, but its role in the progression of colon cancer is not well understood. In the present study, we identified the tumor repressive role of ALKBH5 in colon cancer. ALKBH5 was downregulated in human colon cancer tissues, where its decreased expression significantly correlated with distant metastasis and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage. ALKBH5 was also an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival and disease-free survival in colon cancer patients. Furthermore, functional studies established that overexpression of ALKBH5 inhibited colon cancer cells invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo. These results indicated that ALKBH5 significantly inhibits tumor progression and serves as a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer.
KEYWORDS: ALKBH5, Colon cancer, Invasion, Metastasis