Nuclear Factor IA Is Down-regulated in Muscle-invasive and High-grade Bladder Cancers.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Nuclear factor I (NFI) A and NFIB are transcription factors involved in the regulation of cell differentiation and organ development. More recently, they have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer, acting as context-dependent tumor promoters or suppressors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Expression of NFIA and NFIB was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 136 primary urothelial bladder cancers.

RESULTS

Progressive down-regulation of NFIA was observed with increasing pT stages and higher grade of analyzed tumors. Consequently, muscle invasive cancers exhibited lower NFIA expression compared with non-muscle invasive cases. Analogous comparisons yielded negative results in the case of NFIB. Expression of neither protein was associated with patient survival.

CONCLUSION

NFIA may act as a suppressor of urothelial carcinogenesis, but functional studies and understanding of post-transcriptional regulation of NFI expression is necessary to dissect its role in bladder malignancies.