δ-catenin Expression Correlates with Cell Proliferation in Colorectal Cancer

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of δ-catenin in colorectal cancer(CRC),and explore the correlation between8-catenin expression and cell proliferation in colorectal cancer.Methods The expressions of 8-catenin and Ki-67 in 120 specimens of colorectal cancer were detected by immunohistochemistry in tissue microassay.The expression of 8-catenin was also determined in 30 paired colorectal cancer and normal colorectum by Western blot.Results Overexpression of 8-catenin was detected in 65.83%(79/120) of the 120 human colorectal cancer tissues,which was significantly higher than that in normal colorectum.The positive expression of 8-catenin was higher in advanced TNM stages(Ⅲ+ Ⅳ)of colorectal cancer(78.05%,32/41),compared to lower stages(Ⅰ+Ⅱ)(59.49%,47/79)(x~2=4.132,P= 0.042).The positive expression of 8-catenin was higher in poor differentiated colorectal cancer(82.14%,23/28),compared to well/moderate differentiated colorectal cancer(60.87%,56/92)(x~2=4-319,P = 0.038).The positive expression of 8-catenin was higher in colorectal cancer with lymph node metastasis(77.05%,47/61),compared to colorectal cancer without lymph node metastasis(54.24%,32/59)(x~2=6-939,P = 0.008).In addition,we also found that the overexpression of 8-catenin was positively correlated with proliferation of colorectal cancer which marked by Ki-67 staining in colorectal cancer(r=0.334,P 0.01).Conclusion 8-catenin overexpression might be involved in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer.