TRAF4 promotes the growth and invasion of colon cancer through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

The tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4) has been linked to carcinogenesis. However, the role of TRAF4 in colon cancer is still unclear. Therefore, we investigated the role of TRAF4 in colon cancer and the underlying mechanism. In the present study, we found that TRAF4 was overexpressed in colon cancer tissues and cells, and small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated gene knockdown of TRAF4 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and tumorigenesis, both in vitro and in vivo, but induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Furthermore, siRNA-TRAF4 significantly inhibited the expression levels of β-catenin, cyclinD1, and c-myc proteins in colon cancer cells. Taken together, these results suggest that TRAF4 promoted colon cancer cell growth and invasion by potentiating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, suggesting that TRAF4 may be a potential molecular target for colon cancer prevention and therapy.