title: WNT-pathway components as predictive markers useful for diagnosis, prevention and therapy in inflammatory bowel disease and sporadic colorectal cancer.
abstract: The key role of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling in colorectal cancer (CRC) insurgence and progression is now recognized and several therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway are currently in developing. Wnt/β-catenin signaling not only dominates the early stages of sporadic colorectal cancer (SCC), but could also represent the connection between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and increased risk of developing SCC. The knowledge on the sequential molecular events of Wnt-signaling cascade in IBD and during colorectal carcinogenesis, might provide new diagnostic/prognostic markers and could be helpful for optimizing the treatment protocols, thus improving the efficacy of Wnt-targeting therapies. We performed a comparative evaluation of the expression of some crucial molecules participating to Wnt signaling in an animal model of chemically-induced CRC and in human tissues obtained from patients suffering from IBD or at sequential stages of SCC. Specifically, we analyzed upstream events of Wnt signaling including β-catenin nuclear translocation and loss of E-cadherin and APC functions, and downstream events including c-Myc and Cyclin-D1 expression. We demonstrated that these crucial components of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, when evaluated by immunohistochemistry using a multiparametric approach that includes the analyses of both expression and localization, could be potent markers for diagnosis, prevention and therapy in IBD and SCC, also possessing a predictive value for responsiveness to Wnt-targeting therapies. Furthermore, we showed that the animal model of chemically-induced CRC mimics the molecular events of Wnt signaling during IBD and SCC development in humans and may therefore be suitable for testing chemopreventive or therapeutic drugs targeting this pathway.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalucia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serafino
authors.forename: Noemi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moroni
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zonfrillo
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Andreola
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mercuri
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicotera
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nunziata
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antinori
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rasi
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pierimarchi
mesh_terms: D025601:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D025601:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein; D015820:Cadherins; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D051176:beta Catenin; D019938:Cyclin D1