Korean J Hepatol.
2002 Sep;8(3):297-303.
Expression Patterns of E-cadherin and beta-catenin According to Clinicopathological Characteristics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. jychoi@cmc.cuk.ac.kr
- 2Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of General Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
- 4Department of WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Viral Hepatitis, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
- BACKGROUND/AIMS: E-cadherin is involved in intercellular binding and cellular polarity formation. beta-catenin plays a fundamental role in regulation of the E-cadherin cell adhesion complex. The abnormalities of the components of the complex may disrupt this adhesive function. We investigated the expression patterns of E-cadherin and beta-catenin to determine the clinical significance of these proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma. MATERIALS/METHODS: Thirty-six hepaticellular carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-tumor specimens were analyzed. Subcellular distribution of E-cadherin and beta-catenin was examined by immunohistochemistry staining. We evaluated the patterns of the expression, and investigated the relationship with the cause of HCC; level of AFP; TNM stage; tumor size; growth types; metastasis; differentiation grade of HCC; and presence of portal vein thrombosis. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry showed that all non-tumor tissues had membranous type staining of E-cadherin. All non-tumor tissues showed cytoplasmic type staining of beta-catenin, but no beta-catenin accumulation in nuclei was found. 58% (21/36) of HCC showed positive expression of E-cadherin in cytoplasmic membrane. The cytoplasmic expression of beta-catenin in HCC was 83% (30/36); nuclear expression in 14% (5/36); and no staining in 3% (1/36). Nuclear beta-catenin expression was observed in none (0/4) of the well-differentiated HCC; 17%(3/9) of moderate-differentiated HCC; and 17%(2/6) of poorly-differentiated HCC. There were no relationships between E-cadherin and beta-catenin expression with other clinicopathologic factors. CONCLUSIONS: Loss of cytoplasmic staining of E-cadherin and nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin were observed in HCC. Nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin was not found in well differentiated HCC but was found in poorly differentiated HCC.
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- The Role of E-cadherin/Beta-catenin Complex and Cyclin D1 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- Expression of E-cadherin and alpha - , beta - , gamma - catenin proteins in endometrial carcinoma
- Immunohistochemical Study of beta-catenin Expression between Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Cholangiocarcinoma
- Correlation of the Nuclear beta-catenin Expression with the Clinicopathological Parameters of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- Expression of E-cadherin and a-catenin in Thyroid Carcinomas
