title: Aberrant Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Wnt/beta-catenin signaling plays an important role in normal development. However, its aberrant activation is associated with several cancers. The aim of this study is to examine the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (n = 31). Paraffin sections from tumors (n = 16) and normal pancreata (n = 3) were used to determine the localization of beta-catenin. An additional 15 frozen tumors, adjacent normal pancreata (n = 5), or normal pancreata (n = 4) were utilized for protein isolation. Tumors were also examined for mutations in exon 3 of the CTNNB1 gene. More than 65% of the tumors showed an increase in total beta-catenin, consistent with its enhanced membranous, cytoplasmic, and nuclear localization, but only two showed mutations in CTNNB1. The majority of the remaining tumors demonstrated concurrent increases in Wnt-1 and frizzled-2 (positive regulators) and a decrease in Ser45/Thr41-phospho-beta-catenin. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated beta-catenin-T-cell factor binding in tumors only. Adenomatous polyposis coli and axin, which are both negative regulators, remained unchanged. Unexpectedly, total glycogen synthase kinase-3beta protein was elevated in these tumors. Elevated levels of E-cadherin were also observed, although E-cadherin-beta-catenin association in tumors remained unaffected. Thus, Wnt/beta-catenin activation was observed in 65% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas, independently of beta-catenin gene mutations in most tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Germinaro
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Micsenyi
authors.forename: Navjot K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Monga
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sood
authors.forename: Vanita
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.forename: Neena
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sood
authors.forename: Vandana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Midda
authors.forename: Dulabh K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Monga
authors.forename: Demetrius M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kokkinakis
authors.forename: Satdarshan P S
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Monga
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin