Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 14, 2005; 11(10): 1544-1548
Published online Mar 14, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i10.1544
Connexin 26 correlates with Bcl-xL and Bax proteins expression in colorectal cancer
Luiza Kanczuga-Koda, Stanislaw Sulkowski, Mariusz Koda, Elzbieta Skrzydlewska, Mariola Sulkowska
Luiza Kanczuga-Koda, Stanislaw Sulkowski, Mariusz Koda, Mariola Sulkowska, Department of Pathology, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland
Elzbieta Skrzydlewska, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (3 PO5B 07922)
Correspondence to: Professor Stanislaw Sulkowski, Ph.D., Department of Pathology, Medical University of Bialystok, Waszyngtona 13, 15-269 Bialystok, Poland. sulek@zeus.amb.edu.pl
Telephone: +48-85-7485944 Fax: +48-85-7485944
Received: August 14, 2004
Revised: August 15, 2004
Accepted: September 24, 2004
Published online: March 14, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate of Cx26 in correlation with Bcl-xL and Bax proteins in colorectal cancer.

METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining using specific antibodies was performed to evaluate the protein expression of Cx26, Bax and Bcl-xL in 152 colorectal cancer samples and the correlations among studied proteins as well as the relationships between the expression of Cx26, Bax, Bcl-xL and clinicopathological features were analyzed.

RESULTS: Both normal epithelial cells and carcinoma cells expressed Cx26, Bax and Bcl-xL, but Cx26 in cancer cells showed aberrant, mainly cytoplasmic staining. Expression of Cx26, Bax and Bcl-xL was observed in 55.9%, 55.5% and 72.4% of evaluated colorectal cancers respectively. We found the positive correlation between Cx26 and Bax expression (r = 0.561, P<0.0001), Cx26 and Bcl-xL (r = 0.409, P<0.0001) as well as between Bax and Bcl-xL (r = 0.486, P<0.0001). Association of Cx26, Bax and Bcl-xL expression with histological G2 grade of tumors was noted (P<0.005, P<0.001 and P<0.002 respectively).

CONCLUSION: Cytoplasmic presence of Cx26 and its association with apoptotic markers could indicate a distinct role from physiological functions of Cx26 in cancer cells and it could suggest that connexins might be a target point for modulations of apoptosis with therapeutic implications.

Keywords: Cx26; Bcl-xL; Bax; Apoptosis; Colorectal cancer; Immunohistochemistry