EREG promotes colorectal cancer progression and immune suppressive microenvironment formation through IL-17A/NF-kB pathway

EREG expression levels in CRC tissues were analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference was employed to establish EREG knockdown CRC cell lines. The effects of EREG silencing on cell proliferation, invasion, colony formation, migration, and apoptosis were evaluated by CCK-8 assay, transwell invasion assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. Furthermore, mRNA sequencing (mRNA-seq), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western blot (WB) analyses were conducted to explore intracellular signaling pathway changes and TME modulation following EREG knockdown