Figure 3.

Src activation enhances aggressiveness, chemoresistance and acquisition of cancer stem cell (CSC) properties of colorectal cancer (CRC) by inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Src family kinase (SFK) (A) and several cellular processes, such as Src activator (B)-mediated activation of AKT, MAPK/ERK and FAK, promote EMT by downregulating E-cadherin and inducing β-catenin-dependent malignant processes and N-cadherin expression, through induction of EMT-associated transcriptional factors, such as Twist-1, Snail and Zab1. (C) SOCS-1 inhibits EMT through the induction of NRF2 and Trx1 by inhibiting Src. Additionally, CLDN7-mediated inhibition of CLDN1 and SASH1-mediated inhibition of CRKL suppress Src activation and inhibit EMT.