The effect of MTHFD2 on the proliferation and migration of colorectal cancer cell lines

Purpose: Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2) is a tetramethylfolate dehydrogenase enzyme involved in folate metabolism. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of MTHFD2 on the proliferation and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients and methods: MTHFD2 was silenced or overexpressed in CRC cells. qRT-PCR and Western blotting were used to analyze mRNA and protein expression, respectively. The MTT assay and colony forming assay were used to detect cell proliferation and colony formation ability. The cycle and apoptosis changes were detected by flow cytometry. Transwell experiments were used to analyze the migration ability of CRC cells. Results: The expression of MTHFD2 in 31 kinds of cancers was analyzed by bioinformatics, and MTHFD2 was found highly expressed in various cancer cells including CRC cells. Silencing the expression of MTHFD2 resulted in inhibition of the proliferation of CRC cells, weakening of the migration ability, blocking of the cell cycle in G0/G1-S phase, and promotion of the apoptosis of CRC cells. On the contrary, overexpression of MTHFD2 in CRC cells resulted in enhancement of the proliferation and migration ability, promotion of cell cycle progression and inhibition of cell apoptosis. Conclusion: MTHFD2 is positively related with colorectal cancer and the MTHFD2 gene is a tumor promoting gene in CRC cells.