Krt7, a member of the keratin gene family, is involved in regulating cell growth, migration, and apoptosis in many cancers. It has been implicated in multiple signaling pathways, such as the TGF-β/Smad2/3 pathway, NF-κB pathway, and is also associated with processes like epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) [3,1]. Genetic models, including gene knockout (KO) or conditional knockout (CKO) mouse models, could potentially provide further insights into its function.

In various cancer-related studies, Krt7 has shown significant impacts. In colorectal cancer, Fusobacterium nucleatum infection upregulates Krt7-AS/Krt7 by activating the NF-κB pathway, promoting cell migration in vitro and metastasis in vivo [1]. In pancreatic cancer, overexpressed Krt7 promotes metastasis by remodeling the extracellular matrix niche through FGF2-fibroblast crosstalk and is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis [2,5,6]. In ovarian cancer, Krt7 overexpression is associated with increased proliferation, migration, and EMT, and knockdown of Krt7 inhibits tumor growth in vivo [3]. In breast cancer, m6A modification promotes lung metastasis by increasing the stability of a Krt7-AS/Krt7 mRNA duplex and translation of Krt7 [4]. In bladder cancer, high Krt7 expression is associated with poor survival and immune infiltration [7].

In conclusion, Krt7 plays a crucial role in promoting cancer cell migration, metastasis, and is often associated with poor prognosis in multiple cancer types. The use of KO/CKO mouse models in future research could further clarify its function in these disease conditions, potentially providing new therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.

References:

1. Chen, Shujie, Su, Tingting, Zhang, Ying, Zhuo, Wei, Wang, Liangjing. 2020. Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes colorectal cancer metastasis by modulating KRT7-AS/KRT7. In Gut microbes, 11, 511-525. doi:10.1080/19490976.2019.1695494. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31910722/

2. Xu, Chao, Wang, Shuming, Sun, Yong. 2024. The role of KRT7 in metastasis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer. In Cancer cell international, 24, 321. doi:10.1186/s12935-024-03500-4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39300449/

3. An, Qiang, Liu, Ting, Wang, Ming-Yang, Liu, Zhen-Jiang, Yang, Bing. 2020. KRT7 promotes epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer via the TGF‑β/Smad2/3 signaling pathway. In Oncology reports, 45, 481-492. doi:10.3892/or.2020.7886. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33416175/

4. Chen, Feng, Chen, Zhuojia, Guan, Tao, Li, Jiexin, Wang, Hongsheng. 2021. N6 -Methyladenosine Regulates mRNA Stability and Translation Efficiency of KRT7 to Promote Breast Cancer Lung Metastasis. In Cancer research, 81, 2847-2860. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3779. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33795252/

5. Jiang, Yuting, Liao, Chengyu, Lai, Jianlin, Chen, Qilin, Zheng, Xiaoling. 2025. KRT7 promotes pancreatic cancer metastasis by remodeling the extracellular matrix niche through FGF2-fibroblast crosstalk. In Scientific reports, 15, 6951. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-84129-1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40011455/

6. Li, Yuexian, Su, Zhou, Wei, Biwei, Liang, Zhihai. 2021. KRT7 Overexpression is Associated with Poor Prognosis and Immune Cell Infiltration in Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. In International journal of general medicine, 14, 2677-2694. doi:10.2147/IJGM.S313584. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34188523/

7. Song, Jun, Wu, Ye, Chen, Zhongming, Zhang, Chunpei, Chen, Shizhan. 2024. Clinical significance of KRT7 in bladder cancer prognosis. In The International journal of biological markers, 39, 158-167. doi:10.1177/03936155231224798. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38321777/