Expression levels of β-catenin and galectin-3 in meningioma and their effect on brain invasion and recurrence: a tissue microarray study

Abstract

Objective:Meningiomas are neoplasms that arise from the meninges of the central nervous system (CNS). They constitute about 25.6% of CNS tumors diagnosed in Egypt. Some morphological variants of meningiomas display aggressive behavior, leading to brain-invasive growth pattern. Although meningiomas are usually treated by complete surgical excision, the risk of postoperative recurrence remains. Hence, additional biomarkers for predicting aggressive behavior must be discovered. This study aims to explore the clinical and biological relevance of the protein expression levels of β-catenin and galectine-3 in meningioma and to understand the pathobiology of this neoplasm.Methods:This retrospective study was carried out on 153 cases of meningioma by using tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry for β-catenin and galectine-3.Results:High β-catenin expression was significantly associated with transitional and meningiotheliomatous meningiomas, low tumor grade, low recurrence rate, and low incidence of brain invasion. Meanwhile, high galectin-3 expression was associated with brain invasion, recurrence, high tumor grade, and tumor type. Logistic regression analysis indicated that among all variables included in the model, β-catenin and galactin-3 expression levels were significant predictors of tumor recurrence (P<0.001).Conclusions:Galectin-3 and β-catenin are involved in meningioma recurrencebut not in brain invasion. These molecules could be important potential therapeutic targets and predictors for meningiomas.

Galectin-3 and &beta;-catenin are associated with a poor prognosis in serous epithelial ovarian cancer

“… 11 , 12 , 25 Nevertheless, Ahmed et al proposed a negative correlation between Gal-3 and β-catenin expressions in brain meningioma. 26 However, their definition of “positive staining” of β-catenin was very different from that in our study. Membranous staining was deemed negative in our study, and this may be the reason for the inconsistent results.…”

Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) transcription factor is a key oncogenic driver of aggressive human meningioma progression

“…Our work demonstrates that genetic modifications of FOXM1 (either knockdown in malignant cell lines or overexpression in benign cell lines) results in corresponding changes in proliferation, angiogenesis and invasion, potentially via regulating FOXM1 downstream genes including β Catenin, cyclin D1, p21, IL‐8, VEGF‐A, PLAU, PTTG1 and EMT‐related genes. These genes were chosen based on multiple studies demonstrating that aggressive meningioma is associated with the increased expression of β Catenin , cyclin D1 , N‐cadherin , PTTG1 , etc. Specifically, FOXM1 promotes the recruitment of β Catenin to Wnt target gene promoters and activates the Wnt signalling pathways by protecting the β Catenin/TCF4 complex .…”

Molecular neuropathology of brain‐invasive meningiomas

“…As an integral part of adherens junctions, it contributes to tight cell adhesions, but in addition plays a large role in the Wnt signaling pathway. Catenin expression in meningioma correlates inversely with WHO grade, recurrence, and invasion [55, 60, 61].…”