Colon cancer cells adopt an invasive phenotype without mesenchymal transition in 3-D but not 2-D culture upon combined stimulation with EGF and crypt growth factors

The intestinal crypt homeostasis is maintained by a combination of growth factors including Wnt, R-Spondin1, Noggin and the epidermal growth factor (EGF). In human colorectal cancer, the Wnt pathway is constitutively activated through genetic and epigenetic alterations in as many as 11 genes encoding components of this crypt stem-cell maintenance mechanism.