title: Increased expression of calcineurin in human colorectal adenocarcinomas.
abstract: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cause of cancer death in the Western world. Calcineurin (CaN), a Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein phosphatase, is important for Ca2+-mediated signal transduction. The main objective of this study is to examine the potential role of Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein phosphatase in both normal and in invasive tumor components of human samples. In this study, we carried out 45 cases of CaN activity, 13 cases of CaN protein expression by Western blot analysis, and 6 cases for immunohistochemical analysis in both normal and invasive tumor components of human samples. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that strong cytoplasmic staining of varying intensity was observed in colon tumors of all patients compared to normal mucosa. In addition, Western blot analysis revealed a prominent overexpressed immunoreactive band with an apparent molecular mass of 60 kDa catalytic alpha subunit (CaN A) as well as CaN Aalpha and beta in colon tumor samples. Elevated CaN protein expression appears to be a possible link between Ca2+ signaling and oncogenic processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 4H4, Canada.
authors.forename: Ashakumary
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lakshmikuttyamma
authors.forename: Ponniah
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Selvakumar
authors.forename: Rani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kanthan
authors.forename: Selliah Chandra
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kanthan
authors.forename: Rajendra K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019703:Calcineurin; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases