Expression of EpCAM and Wnt/ β-catenin in human colon cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The aims of this study were to explore the correlation between the expression of EpCAM and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in human colon cancer and its clinical significance for the evaluation of cancer prognosis. Samples from colon cancer, para-carcinoma, or benign intestinal tissue from individual patients (50) and from normal intestinal mucosal tissues (20) were obtained from the Pathology Department of the Shandong Province Binzhou People's Hospital (Shandong, China). Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression levels of EpCAM and β-catenin proteins in these tissues, and the prognoses of the patients from whom the samples were derived were determined on follow-up examination. The corresponding in vitro mechanistic siRNA experiments were subsequently performed in the human colon cancer cell line HCT116 to observe the regulatory effects of silencing EpCAM expression on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. From these analyses, we determined that the expression levels of EpCAM and β-catenin were higher in cancer tissues compared with other tissues 4486©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (2): 4485-4494 (2015) from the same patient, and that the expression of EpCAM and Wnt/β-catenin in colon cancers were positively correlated. The prognostic analysis showed an inverse correlation between EpCAM and Wnt/β-catenin expression and patient prognosis. A further examination of cellular mechanisms confirmed that the silencing of EpCAM led to decreased expression of Wnt/β-catenin, and thus reduced proliferation and increased the apoptosis ratio in the cells. These results suggest that suppression of EpCAM might be a new approach for treating colon cancer.

Is Ep-CAM Expression a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker for Colorectal Cancer? A Systematic Meta-Analysis

“…Ep-CAM overexpression is a poor prognostic factor in some cancers, such as breast and gallbladder carcinomas (Schmidt et al, 2010, Varga et al, 2004), but its overexpression is a favorable prognostic factor in ovarian cancer (Battista et al, 2014). The present study found that Ep-CAM was commonly expressed in CRC, and its expression was significantly higher in CRC than in normal controls (Chai et al, 2015, Zhou et al, 2015, Paret et al, 2007, Kuhn et al, 2007, Karanikiotis et al, 2005). Ep-CAM was slightly less frequently expressed in CRC than in benign lesions (Kuhn et al, 2007), but its expression level was notably higher in CRC than in benign lesions (Zhou et al, 2015).…”

“…1 shows the detailed selection procedure used for the potential literature. The abovementioned inclusion criteria resulted in 11 eligible studies published in English from 2005 to 2016 (Kim et al, 2016, Chai et al, 2015, Zhou et al, 2015, Kim et al, 2014, Goossens-Beumer et al, 2014, Lugli et al, 2010, Paret et al, 2007, Kuhn et al, 2007, Gosens et al, 2007, Went et al, 2006, Karanikiotis et al, 2005) for the meta-analysis, which included 4103 CRC patients and 458 controls. Five studies of 331 patients with CRC and 458 controls analyzed the relationship of Ep-CAM expression between CRC and controls (Chai et al, 2015, Zhou et al, 2015, Paret et al, 2007, Kuhn et al, 2007, Karanikiotis et al, 2005).…”

“…The abovementioned inclusion criteria resulted in 11 eligible studies published in English from 2005 to 2016 (Kim et al, 2016, Chai et al, 2015, Zhou et al, 2015, Kim et al, 2014, Goossens-Beumer et al, 2014, Lugli et al, 2010, Paret et al, 2007, Kuhn et al, 2007, Gosens et al, 2007, Went et al, 2006, Karanikiotis et al, 2005) for the meta-analysis, which included 4103 CRC patients and 458 controls. Five studies of 331 patients with CRC and 458 controls analyzed the relationship of Ep-CAM expression between CRC and controls (Chai et al, 2015, Zhou et al, 2015, Paret et al, 2007, Kuhn et al, 2007, Karanikiotis et al, 2005). Six studies analyzed the correlation of Ep-CAM overexpression or loss with the clinicopathological characteristics of 3772 patients with CRC (Kim et al, 2016, Kim et al, 2014, Goossens-Beumer et al, 2014, Lugli et al, 2010, Gosens et al, 2007, Went et al, 2006).…”

β-Catenin is important for cancer stem cell generation and tumorigenic activity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

“…The results implied that the inhibitory effect of β-catenin via indirectly suppressing E-cadherin expression was the main influence of cellular β-catenin on cell migration, and the regulatory mechanisms of cell migration in NPC mediated by β-catenin were more complicated than expected. Vimentin (an intermediate filament protein) and EpCAM (a transmembrane protein) [32], two proteins related to cell adhesion and migration, were both decreased in β-catenin-silenced cells. Vimentin expression was speculatively correlated with the progression of NPC, which was supported by an investigation in 122 NPC patients showing that high nuclear vimentin expression was correlated significantly with advanced clinical stage [33].…”

FRAT1 expression regulates proliferation in colon cancer cells

“…The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is thought to be central to the process of carcinogenesis in CRC (11)(12)(13). Recently, a novel proto-oncogene, frequently rearranged in advanced T-cell lymphomas 1 (FRAT1), has increasingly received attention.…”