Pinkbar elevation in colon cancer patients and the therapeutic effects of hAMSCs secretome through AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling pathways in HT-29 colon cancer cells.

Cancer is a major cause of human death. Colon cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Pinkbar, a member of the inverse BAR (I-BAR) domain protein subfamily, is associated with the actin cytoskeleton, leading to cell motility and cell shape changes. We focused on Pinkbar expression in colon cancer patients and explored the therapeutic effects of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) secretome on Pinkbar expression in colon cancer cells through AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling pathways. Thirty colon cancer specimens were collected, and Pinkbar expression was assessed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). A co-culture system with 6-well Transwell plates was utilized to treat HT-29 cells with hAMSCs secretome, followed by analysis of cell proliferation and invasion through qRT-PCR, MTT assay, Western blot, DAPI staining, and wound healing assay. Our results demonstrated up-regulation of Pinkbar in colon cancer patients and inhibition of Pinkbar, p-AKT (Thr308), p-mTOR (Ser2481), Wnt3a, β-catenin, p-P70S6K (Ser411), and cyclin D1 expression along with an increase in E-cadherin levels in hAMSCs-treated HT-29 colon cancer cells. These results suggest that Pinkbar may serve as a potential target for colon cancer therapy, and hAMSCs secretome can effectively inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation and invasion through AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling pathways.