Immunohistochemical expression of Notch1, Jagged1, NF-κB and MMP-9 in colorectal cancer patients and the relationship to clinicopathological parameters

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Zheng, Chen-Guo^a | Chen, Rong^a | Xie, Jie-Bin^b | Liu, Chang-Bao^a | Jin, Zhao^c | Jin, Chun^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Coloproctology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China | [b] Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Institute of Hepatobiliary, Pancreas and Intestinal Disease, The Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, China | [c] Department of Coloproctology, Wenzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Chun Jin, Department of Coloproctology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, China. Tel.: +86 0577 88938301; Fax: +86 0577 88938301; E-mail:chunjin25@sina.com

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Activation of Notch and NF-κB signaling has been frequently observed in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and contributes to the chemo-resistance and treatment failure. However, the relationship between these signaling pathways and CRC has not been clearly described. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of Notch1, Jagged1, NF-κB and MMP-9 in CRC patients and analyze their correlation with clinicopathological factors. METHODS: Expression of Notch1, Jagged1, NF-κB and MMP-9 was visualized by immune-histology in the tumor tissue, adjacent and distant normal tissues from 47 CRC patients without receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy. RESULTS: Notch1 (80.8%), Jagged1 (80.8%), NF-κB (70.2%) and MMP-9 (76.6%) were overexpressed in cancer tissues compared normal tissues (P< 0.05). The intensity of Notch1, Jagged1 and NF-κB expression was associated with histological grading, depth of invasion, TNM staging and lymph node metastasis of CRC. MMP-9 was intimately correlated with depth of invasion, TNM staging and lymph node metastasis. NF-κB, MMP-9 and Notch1 expression was positively correlated (P< 0.05), and the same positive correlation was found among NF-κB, MMP-9 and Jagged1 expression (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Notch1, Jagged1, NF-κB and MMP-9 probably play a pivotal role during the CRC development, serving as biomarkers for early detection of the recurrence and metastasis and prognosis of CRC.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer, notch, jagged, NF-κB, MMP-9

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-150533

Journal: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 889-897, 2015