Wnt Gene Expression in Colorectal Cancer Progression
Author Information
Author(s): Smith K, Bui T D, Poulsom R, Kaklamanis L, Williams G, Harris A L
Primary Institution: ICRF Molecular Oncology Laboratory, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
Hypothesis
The study investigates whether aberrant regulation of upstream ligands stimulating the APC-β-catenin pathway occurs in colon cancer.
Conclusion
The study found that wnt 2 and wnt 5a are significantly up-regulated in the progression from normal tissue to adenoma to carcinoma in colorectal cancer.
Supporting Evidence
- Six out of eight wnt genes were expressed in matched cases of normal, adenomatous, and malignant colorectal tissues.
- Wnt 2 and wnt 5a were significantly up-regulated in the progression from normal through adenoma to carcinoma.
- Transcripts for wnts 4, 7b, 10b, and 13 were detected in several colorectal cell lines.
- In situ hybridization showed that wnt 2 and wnt 5a transcripts were mainly in the lamina propria/stroma region.
- Immunostaining confirmed that the wnt-expressing cells were macrophages.
Takeaway
The study shows that certain genes related to cancer are more active as colorectal cancer develops, especially in immune cells called macrophages.
Methodology
RNAase protection analysis and in situ hybridization were used to study gene expression in matched cases of normal, adenomatous, and malignant colorectal tissues.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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