Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein promotes liver metastasis of gastrointestinal cancer by activating a β1-integrin-FAK-YAP1/TAZ signaling pathway

High VASP levels correlate with liver metastasis and reduced patient survival. a VASP IHC scores were signed for 63 CRCs of patients. b Representative IHC and H & E images of a CRC show that VASP immunoreactivity markedly enhanced in CRC cells as compared to the benign colonic tissues. Bar, 100？μm. c VASP IHC data of 27 patients with paired primary CRCs and liver biopsies are shown. In CRCs with high levels of VASP, 14 out of 18 cases (78.8%) had metastases in the liver. In CRCs with low levels of VASP, 0 out of 9 cases (0%) had metastases in the liver. P？=？0.0002 by Fisher’s exact test. d Distribution of VASP IHC scores of 53 PDACs of patients is shown. e Representative VASP IHC and H & E images of a PDAC show that VASP immunoreactivity markedly increased in PDAC cells (arrow) as compared to epithelial cells of a benign duct (arrowhead). Bar, 100？μm. f, g Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed that high expression levels of VASP correlated with reduced overall and disease-free survival of PDAC patients. P？<？0.05 by Log-rank test, n is shown in the graph