Downregulation of TRIM58 expression is associated with a poor patient outcome and enhances colorectal cancer cell invasion

TRIM58 is a member of the tripartite motif protein (TRIM) family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. Aberrant gene methylation of TRIM58 has been reported in liver and lung cancer and indicates a poor patient prognosis. However, the expression level and functional role of TRIM58 in colorectal cancer (CRC) have yet to be elucidated. In the present study, we found that TRIM58 expression was significantly suppressed in human CRC and was inversely correlated with CRC progression. Additionally, overall survival was significantly reduced in patients with low TRIM58 expression in CRC tumors. In vitro studies demonstrated that ectopic TRIM58 overexpression strongly inhibited CRC cell invasion but had minimal effects on cell proliferation, colonization and migration. Furthermore, TRIM58 suppression enhanced the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) genes. Thus, our findings suggest that TRIM58 is a potential prognostic marker of CRC and functions as a tumor-suppressor gene via inhibition of cancer cell invasion through EMT and MMP activation.