Epigenetic regulation of osteopontin splicing isoform c defines its role as a microenvironmental factor to promote the survival of colon cancer cells from 5-FU treatment.

The results demonstrated that the production of OPNc was highly controlled under epigenetic regulations, where MeCP2 and the activation of nuclear calcium signaling were involved. It was also suggested that OPNc could transmit the stress signal of cells upon chemotherapy in TME and promoted the survival of adjacent colon cancer cells.