title: The transcriptional repressor SNAIL is overexpressed in human colon cancer.
abstract: Overexpression of the transcriptional repressor, SNAIL, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of malignancies; however, there are no previous reports on the role of SNAIL in colorectal cancers (CRCs). We, therefore, evaluated human CRC specimens for the presence of the SNAIL protein. Immunohistochemical studies were performed using samples obtained from archived CRC paraffin blocks and a tissue array. Tissue sections were probed with a polyclonal antibody to human SNAIL and scored by a gastrointestinal pathologist. SNAIL was not detectable in uninvolved mucosa, but immunoreactivity was evident in 78% of tumors. SNAIL protein expression did not correlate with subsite location or gender, however, SNAIL-positive tumors had an older mean age (58.9 +/- 12.7 versus 49.8 +/- 127; P = 0.028). Furthermore, there was a trend that CRCs with metastatic ability more frequently overexpressed SNAIL (100 versus 65%; P = 0.11). In conclusion, we demonstrate, for the first time, that SNAIL is upregulated in human colon cancer, which potentially may have significance in control of metastasis and possibly serve as a target for chemopreventive agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Evanston-Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, Illinois 60201, USA. h-roy@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Hemant K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Smyrk
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koetsier
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Victor
authors.forename: Ramesh K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wali
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012737:Sex Factors; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors