In:
World Journal of Surgical Oncology, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 5, No. 1 ( 2007-12)
Abstract:
β-catenin is a multifunctional protein involved in two apparently independent processes: cell-cell adhesion and signal transduction. β-catenin is involved in Wnt signaling pathway that regulates cellular differentiation and proliferation. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of β-catenin and cyclin D1 using immunohistochemistry and searched for mutations in exon 3 of the β-catenin gene and Axin gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and methods Samples were obtained from 50 esophageal cancer patients. Immunohistochemical staining for β-catenin and cyclin D1 was done. Mutational analyses of the exon3 of the β-catenin gene and Axin gene were performed on tumors with nuclear β-catenin expression. Results Four (8%) esophageal cancer tissues showed high nuclear β-catenin staining. Overexpression of cyclin D1 was observed in 27 out of 50 (54%) patients. All four cases that showed nuclear β-catenin staining overexpressed cyclin D1. No relationship was observed between the expression pattern of β-catenin and cyclin D1 and age, sex, tumor size, stage, differentiation grade, lymph node metastasis, response to chemotherapy, or survival. No mutational change was found in β- catenin exon 3 in the four cases with nuclear β-catenin staining. Sequencing analysis of the Axin cDNA revealed only a splicing variant (108 bp deletion, position 2302–2409) which was present in the paired normal mucosa. Conclusion A fraction of esophageal squamous cell carcinomas have abnormal nuclear accumulation of β-catenin accompanied with increased cyclin D1 expression. Mutations in β-catenin or axin genes are not responsible for this abnormal localization of β-catenin.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1477-7819
DOI:
10.1186/1477-7819-5-21
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2007
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2118383-1
