Karabacak Tuba, Eğılmez Reyhan, Arpaci Rabia Bozdoğan, Pfeiffer Ebru Serınsöz
Department of Pathology, Mersin University, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey.
Turk Patoloji Derg. 2011;27(3):185-8. doi: 10.5146/tjpath.2011.01073.
Cascades that include β-catenin that has a function in adhesion and interaction with tumor suppressor genes such as APC have important roles in many neoplasms. The aim of the current study was to confirm the effect of the β-catenin pathway in breast tumor carcinogenesis and invasion.
Polyclonal rabbit β-catenin antibody was applied to 52 cases of infiltrative ductal carcinoma and 28 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ using the Avidin Biotin complex immune peroxidase method. The intensity and cellular localization of immunostaining were evaluated and compared.
β-catenin immunoreactivity similar to that of normal epithelium was observed in 7 (8.75%) cases and weak or absent β-catenin expression was noted in 45 (56.25%) infiltrative ductal carcinoma cases. β-catenin expression was strong in 5 (6.25%) cases of ductal carcinoma in situ but weak or absent immunostaining was observed in 23 (28.75%) cases. Membranous β-catenin immunoreactivity was observed in 18 (22.5%) cases of infiltrative and 14 (%17.5) cases of ductal carcinoma in situ. Cytoplasmic immunostaining or complete absence of staining was noted in 34 (42.5%) cases of infiltrative and 14 (17.5%) cases of ductal carcinoma in situ.
Similar quantitative and qualitative changes in β-catenin expression were detected in a considerable proportion of in situ and infiltrative ductal carcinomas in the current study. These findings suggest that β-catenin plays a role in the carcinogenesis of infiltrative ductal carcinoma but similar expression patterns of β-catenin in infiltrative and in situ ductal carcinomas indicates that changes in β-catenin expression occur early in carcinogenesis.
包括β-连环蛋白的级联反应在许多肿瘤中具有重要作用，β-连环蛋白在细胞黏附以及与肿瘤抑制基因（如腺瘤性息肉病基因）的相互作用中发挥功能。本研究的目的是证实β-连环蛋白通路在乳腺肿瘤发生和侵袭中的作用。
采用抗生物素蛋白-生物素复合物免疫过氧化物酶法，将多克隆兔β-连环蛋白抗体应用于52例浸润性导管癌和28例原位导管癌。评估并比较免疫染色的强度和细胞定位。
在7例（8.75%）浸润性导管癌病例中观察到与正常上皮相似的β-连环蛋白免疫反应性，45例（56.25%）浸润性导管癌病例中β-连环蛋白表达较弱或缺失。5例（6.25%）原位导管癌病例中β-连环蛋白表达较强，但23例（28.75%）病例中免疫染色较弱或缺失。18例（22.5%）浸润性导管癌和14例（17.5%）原位导管癌病例中观察到膜性β-连环蛋白免疫反应性。34例（42.5%）浸润性导管癌和14例（17.5%）原位导管癌病例中观察到细胞质免疫染色或完全无染色。
在本研究中，相当比例的原位和浸润性导管癌中检测到β-连环蛋白表达存在相似的定量和定性变化。这些发现表明β-连环蛋白在浸润性导管癌的发生中起作用，但浸润性和原位导管癌中β-连环蛋白的相似表达模式表明β-连环蛋白表达的变化发生在肿瘤发生的早期。
