Altered expression of hMSH2 in sporadic colorectal cancer, surrounding mucosa and at distant colonic mucosa.
BACKGROUND
Mismatch repair gene hMSH2 is involved in correction of mispairing during replication and its mutation is associated both with microsatellite instability and with hereditary colorectal cancer. We evaluated its involvement in sporadic colorectal cancer tumorigenesis too.


METHODS
The protein expression pattern of hMSH2 was evaluated on 29 cases of resected sporadic adenocarcinoma using an immunohistochemical approach.


RESULTS
In 14 cases, lack of hMSH2 protein expression was observed in adenocarcinoma and in peritumoral mucosa. In 12 patients, hMSH2 resulted in strong expression in the tumour as well as in the surrounding mucosa and at distant mucosa. In three cases, hMSH2 protein expression in tumoral, adjacent and at distance normal mucosa resulted negative.


CONCLUSIONS
Repair genes could play an important role in tumour progression and in sporadic colorectal cancer. Detection of protein expression by immunohistochemistry may be a method to select tumours for successive genetic investigations.
Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, University La Sapienza di Roma, v.le del Policlinico, 00161 Roma, Italy.
E
E
Giarnieri
F
F
Consorti
A
A
Lorenzotti
L
L
Luzzatto
G
G
Soda
D
D
Bosco
A
A
Vecchione
G
G
Midiri
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D003106:Colon; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004260:DNA Repair; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051718:MutS Homolog 2 Protein; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; C497172:MSH2 protein, human; D051718:MutS Homolog 2 Protein