Cytokine regulation of ezrin expression in the human colon cancer cell line HT29

Ezrin is a membrane-cytoskeleton linker protein and belongs to the TERM family. It has been implicated in the membrane ruffling, motility, and metastatic process of tumour cells. This study examined the effects of a range of cytokines on the expression of ezrin in the human colon cancer cell line, HT29. Levels of ezrin were determined by Northern and Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence. We report that IL-2, IL-8, IL-10 and IGF-I had an inhibitory effect on the expression, whereas EGF and IL-11 enhanced cellular ezrin levels. Immunofluorescence confirmed that these changes were seen both in cytosol and generalised membrane. It is concluded that ezrin expression in tumour cells can be regulated by cytokines and this bears importance in the understanding of its role in tumour biology.