Fig. 6. NF-κB increased STX2 expression by directly binding to the STX2 promoter.

a Western blot analysis of the P65 and STX2 protein levels in SW480 and LOVO cells that had been treated with TNFα (20 ng/ml) for 24 h. b ChIP analysis. Schematic illustration of the STX2 promoter. (The region that binds with NF-κB p50 is indicated with “+”; top). ChIP analysis of NF-κB p50 binding with the STX2 promoter in LOVO cells (bottom). c Luciferase activity analysis of the indicated cells transfected with the indicated plasmids (Error bars represent the mean ± s.d. from three independent experiments. d Model: STX2 increased the activity of the NF-κB pathway by interacting with TRAF6, led to the increased expression of STX2 and formed a positive feedback loop, ultimately promoted CRC metastasis.**p < 0.01