title: Differential caspase-3 expression in noncancerous, premalignant and cancer tissues of stomach and its clinical implication.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Caspase-3 is a critical apoptosis-promoting element but its status during stepwise gastrocarcinogenesis needs to be further clarified.
  
  
  METHODS
  By the use of frozen tissue microarrays constructed with the tissue spots cored from defined histological regions in tissue blocks, the pattern of caspase-3 expression in noncancerous, premalignant (atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia) tissue and cancer spots were analyzed under the same experimental conditions by the methods of immunohistochemistry and mRNA-in situ hybridization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caspase-3 was expressed in all 34 of the noncancerous mucosa (100%), in 16 of the 17 premalignant tissues (94.1%) and in 15 of the 48 gastric cancers (31.3%). The incidences of caspase-3 detection were significantly different (p<0.01) between noncancerous mucosa and intestinal as well as diffuse gastric cancers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Down-regulated caspase-3 is closely correlated with gastric cancer formation and would be a potential indicator of tumor formation and progression. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori; Hp) infection is but not the only one element responsible to the enhanced caspase-3 expression in gastric epithelia.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute, Liaoning Lab of Cancer Genomics, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xiao-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao-Xin
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xiao-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qing-You
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D005756:Gastritis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D008679:Metaplasia; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology*; D012313:RNA / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013270:Stomach / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
chemical_list: D012313:RNA; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases