Ο ρόλος μορίων του σηματοδοτικού μονοπατιού Hippo στην παθογένεια του καρκίνου τού παχέος εντέρου του ανθρώπου

Τhe hippo pathway regulates organ size by suspending cellular proliferation and enabling cell apoptosis. It identifies and responds to cell organization by synchronising chemical and mechanical signals via the transcriptional factors YAP1 and TAZ, which participate in this pathway in many organisms, including humans. The activation of YAP1/TAZ is a common end point of many signaling pathways that lead to malignancy. Integrin-linked kinase (ILK), a focal adhesion kinase, plays a known role in promoting colon cancer and has recently been suspected of interacting in vitro with the YAP1/TAZ transcriptional factors of the Hippo pathway, thus enabling carcinogenesis and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, little is know about the role of YAP1/TAZ and their possible interaction with ILK in human colon cancer. Towards that goal, we investigated with immunohistochemistry (IHC) the expression of YAP1/TAZ and ILK in 79 FFPE primary colon cancer cases and their possible correlation to pathological parameters. We recognized a greater expression of YAP1/TAZ in colon cancer tissue in comparison to adjacent non neoplastic tissue. Additionally, TAZ protein statistically significantly correlated with tumor grade (p<0.046). Expression of YAP1 correlated significantly with patient age (p<0.047). Furthermore, YAP1 and TAZ correlated significantly (p<0.01) and a correlation tendency was found between ILK and YAP1 (p<0.072). The findings of this study suggest the participation of the Hippo signaling pathway in colorectal carcinogenesis.