CLDN7 and colonic neoplasm: Although low CLAUDIN-1 expression has been reported to independently predict for poor clinical outcome in colon cancer patients [23], in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that CLAUDIN-1 promotes EMT conversion of colon cancer cells through zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB-1) mediated inhibition of E-cadherin expression [24,25].