The E2F1‒KIF14 axis drives focal adhesion formation and promotes colorectal cancer metastasis.

Abstract

Kinesin family member 14 (KIF14) has been implicated in the progression of multiple cancer types, yet its role in colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis remains undefined. Here, we assesse KIF14 expression in CRC specimens and explore its clinical and functional significance. KIF14 upregulation is frequently observed in CRC tissues and is correlated with advanced tumor stage and reduced overall survival. Functional assays reveal that KIF14 depletion in CRC cells inhibits migration, invasion, and in vivo metastatic colonization, whereas KIF14 overexpression induces the opposite effects. Transcriptomic and pathway enrichment analyses reveal that KIF14 functions as a critical regulator of focal adhesion and cell-matrix adhesion signaling. This finding is further supported by experimental evidence showing that KIF14 overexpression promotes focal adhesion assembly, whereas KIF14 knockdown disruptes this process. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that KIF14 binds directly to the focal adhesion protein vinculin and mediates its delivery to the leading edge of migrating cells. Moreover, bioinformatics prediction and chromatin immunoprecipitation confirm that E2F1 directly binds the KIF14 promoter to drive its transcription. Rescue experiments reveal that ectopic KIF14 expression restores the prometastatic phenotypes suppressed by E2F1 silencing, indicating that the effects of E2F1 are mediated by the E2F1‒KIF14 axis. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel E2F1-KIF14-vinculin signaling axis that drives CRC metastasis by modulating focal adhesion dynamics, highlighting KIF14 as a potential therapeutic target.