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Inverse expression of estrogen receptor‐β and nuclear factor‐κB in urinary bladder carcinogenesis

2010; Wiley; Volume: 17; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1442-2042.2010.02603.x

1442-2042

Stylianos Kontos, A. Kominea, Maria Melachrinou, Eleni Balampani, Georgia Sotiropoulou‐Bonikou,

Phytoestrogen effects and research

Objectives: To investigate the expression of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and estrogen receptor‐β (ER‐β) signalling pathways in bladder urothelial carcinoma according to clinicopathological features, in order to elucidate their role during carcinogenesis. Methods: Immunohistochemical methodology was carried out on formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded sections from urinary bladder carcinomas of 140 patients (94 males and 46 females) who underwent transurethral resection of bladder neoplasms. Correlations between ER‐β and NF‐κB, and tumor grade and T‐stage were evaluated, along with demographic data, sex and age. Results: A significant decrease in ER‐β expression in the nucleus of bladder cells during loss of cell differentiation ( r s = −0.61, P ‐value < 0.001, test of trend P ‐value = 0.003) and in muscle invasive carcinomas (T2–T4; test of trend P ‐value < 0.001) was found. p65 Subunit of NF‐κB was expressed in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm of bladder epithelial cells. A strong positive association between tumor grade and nuclear expression of NF‐κB was shown. No correlation between NF‐κB, nuclear or cytoplasmic staining, with T‐stage was observed. An inverse correlation between ER‐β and nuclear p65 immunoreactivity was observed ( r s = −0.45, P ‐value < 0.001). There was no correlation with demographic data. Conclusions: Our immunohistochemical study suggests the possible inverse regulation of NF‐κB and ER‐β transcription factor during bladder carcinogenesis. Selective ER‐β agonists and agents, inhibitors of NF‐κB, might represent a possible new treatment strategy for bladder urothelial tumors.