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Increased Expression of RelA/Nuclear Factor-κB Protein Correlates with Colorectal Tumorigenesis

2003; Karger Publishers; Volume: 65; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1159/000071203

1423-0232

Honggang Yu, Liangliang Yu, Yanning Yang, Hesheng Luo, Jie‐Ping Yu, Juris J. Meier, Henning Schrader, Andreas Bastian, Wolfgang E. Schmidt, Frank Schmitz,

Colorectal Cancer Treatments and Studies

<i>Objective: </i>To identify the role of RelA/nuclear factor-ĸB, an important inhibitor of apoptosis in colorectal tumorigenesis, we examined the expression of RelA in normal colorectal mucosa (n = 10), colorectal adenomas (n = 30) and colorectal adenocarcinomas (n = 30). Furthermore, the association of RelA expression with tumor cell apoptosis, proliferation, and expression of Bcl-2/Bcl-x_Lwas also studied. <i>Methods: </i>Paraffin sections were stained with monoclonal antibodies directed against RelA, Bcl-2, Bcl-x_L, and Ki-67 to assess protein expression patterns in normal, adenomatous and colon cancer tissue. Apoptotic cells were detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) using an in situ detection kit.<i> Results:</i> The results of immunohistochemical staining revealed that expression of RelA, Bcl-2, Bcl-x_L, and Ki-67 labeling index (LI) significantly increased in the transition from adenoma with low dysplasia to adenocarcinoma. This transition was associated with a significant decrease in the apoptotic index (AI) and a significant increase in the Ki-67 LI. The expression of RelA correlated inversely with the AI and correlated positively with the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-x_L, and Ki-67 LI in the transition from low-grade dysplasia to adenocarcinoma. <i>Conclusion:</i> Our results suggest that increased expression of RelA/nuclear factor-ĸB plays an important role in the transition from colorectal adenoma with low-grade dysplasia to adenocarcinoma in the pathogenesis of colon cancer in humans.