The role of S100a4 (Mts1) in Apc- and Smad4-driven tumour onset and progression

Introduction: S100a4 is a calcium-binding protein belonging to the family of S100-proteins, highly expressed in different stromal cell types. S100A4 has been reported as a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer in association with tumour progression and metastasis. Methods: In this study, we analysed the in vivo role of S100a4 in intestinal tumour initiation and progression using different transgenic and knockout mouse models. Results: We found that genetic ablation or overexpression of S100a4 in both Apc- and Smad4-mutant mice do not affect tumour initiation in the intestinal tract. In contrast, S100a4 epithelial overexpression in Apc(1638N/+)/KRAS(V12G) mice increases the dissemination of intestinal tumour cells to the liver, in agreement with its role in tumour metastasis. Moreover, we report a novel role for S100a4 in desmoid formation where S100a4 deficiency results in a significant reduction of the tumour burden characteristic of the Apc(1638N) model. In agreement with these results, S100a4 appears to be co-expressed together with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) markers in desmoid tumours from Apc(1638N/+) mice, as well as from sporadic and hereditary human desmoids. Conclusion: Our data provide the first report on the in vivo role of S100a4 in intestinal tumourigenesis and describe a new role for S100a4 in the aetiology of desmoids formation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.