Open Access

Immunohistochemical demonstration of alteration of β-catenin during tumor metastasis by different mechanisms according to histology in lung cancer

  • Authors:
    • Xianhua Xu
    • Ji Eun Kim
    • Ping-Li Sun
    • Seol Bong Yoo
    • Hyojin Kim
    • Yan Jin
    • Jin-Haeng Chung
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: November 28, 2014     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2014.2095
  • Pages: 311-318
  • Copyright: © Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The protein β-catenin exhibits a dual function in cells, by acting as a major structural component of cell-cell adherens junctions and as a central signaling molecule in the Wnt signaling pathway. However, how the regulation of β-catenin expression during tumor metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) varies according to histological type remains unclear. To investigate the regulatory mechanism of β-catenin on tumor metastasis, the present study compared the expression of Wnt1, β-catenin and E-cadherin in 41 primary NSCLC tumors and their corresponding metastatic lesions by immunohistochemistry. Altered expression of β-catenin was more frequent in the metastatic tumors (34/41, 82.9%) than in the corresponding primary tumors (24/41, 58.5%; P<0.05). There were 12 cases [nine of adenocarcinoma (ADC) and three of squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC)] that revealed discordant β-catenin expression between the primary tumors and the corresponding metastatic lesions. Of these, 11 cases (11/12, 91.7%; nine ADCs and two SqCCs) demonstrated acquired β-catenin alterations in the metastatic lesions. Subgroup analysis of these nine ADCs revealed that six cases (6/9, 66.7%) were accompanied by E-cadherin loss but no Wnt1 overexpression. Subgroup analysis of the three SqCCs revealed discordant β-catenin expression. Two cases (2/3, 66.7%) demonstrated acquired β-catenin expression during metastatic progression with Wnt1 overexpression but no change in E-cadherin expression. One case of SqCC revealed normal β-catenin expression in the metastasis although the expression was aberrant in the primary tumor. The results of the present study revealed that the changes in β-catenin expression occurred during tumor metastasis by different mechanisms, depending on histological type. The alterations in β-catenin expression may be regulated by a cadherin-catenin system in ADCs with reduced membranous expression of E-cadherin, but mediated by Wnt1 overexpression in SqCCs with cytoplasmic or nuclear transition types.
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February-2015
Volume 9 Issue 2

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Xu X, Kim JE, Sun P, Yoo SB, Kim H, Jin Y and Chung J: Immunohistochemical demonstration of alteration of β-catenin during tumor metastasis by different mechanisms according to histology in lung cancer. Exp Ther Med 9: 311-318, 2015
APA
Xu, X., Kim, J.E., Sun, P., Yoo, S.B., Kim, H., Jin, Y., & Chung, J. (2015). Immunohistochemical demonstration of alteration of β-catenin during tumor metastasis by different mechanisms according to histology in lung cancer. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 9, 311-318. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2014.2095
MLA
Xu, X., Kim, J. E., Sun, P., Yoo, S. B., Kim, H., Jin, Y., Chung, J."Immunohistochemical demonstration of alteration of β-catenin during tumor metastasis by different mechanisms according to histology in lung cancer". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 9.2 (2015): 311-318.
Chicago
Xu, X., Kim, J. E., Sun, P., Yoo, S. B., Kim, H., Jin, Y., Chung, J."Immunohistochemical demonstration of alteration of β-catenin during tumor metastasis by different mechanisms according to histology in lung cancer". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 9, no. 2 (2015): 311-318. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2014.2095