The complementary role of beta-catenin in diagnosing various subtypes of renal cell carcinomas and its up-regulation in conventional renal cell carcinomas with high nuclear grades.
beta-catenin is a kind of cytoplasmic protein involved in cell adhesion and signal transduction. This study investigated its expression in various subtypes of renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) using an immunohistochemical staining method. beta-catenin expression was assessed from staining frequency and staining score. Staining score was performed by evaluating both staining percentage and intensity. All subtypes of RCCs reacted positively with beta-catenin. However, the positive frequency and staining score in papillary and chromophobe RCCs were significantly higher than those in conventional RCCs (p < 0.05). In addition, in conventional RCCs, the positive frequency and staining score of beta-catenin showed a significant difference between nuclear grades I/II and grade III (p < 0.05). Therefore, it may indicate that beta-catenin can serve as a complementary tool to distinguish conventional RCCs from chromophobe RCCs. In conventional RCCs with low nuclear grades, beta-catenin expression is generally down-regulated, while it appears to be preserved in those with high nuclear grades.
Guo
L
L
First Department of Pathology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi, Japan.
Kuroda
N
N
Miyazaki
E
E
Hayashi
Y
Y
Toi
M
M
Naruse
K
K
Hiroi
M
M
Ashida
S
S
Shuin
T
T
Enzan
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015534:Trans-Activators; D015854:Up-Regulation; D051176:beta Catenin
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051176:beta Catenin