title: Expression and clinical significances of Beclin1, LC3 and mTOR in colorectal cancer.
abstract: Autophagy is related to cancer and other diseases, and compromised autophagy could promote chromosome instability associated with carcinogenesis and tumor progression. The role of autophagy in the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains poorly understood. Beclin1 mediates autophagic initiation, and LC3 is a specific marker for autophagy. Inactivation of mTOR caused by cellular hypoxia or energy deficiency induces autophagic activity. This study aims to examine the expression and clinical significance of these proteins in CRC. Immunohistochemistry results showed that the positive expression rates of Beclin1, LC3, and mTOR in cancer tissues were 90.50%, 87.19%, and 46.28%, respectively, which were higher than those in adjacent tissues (P < 0.05). Differentiation degree and lymph node metastasis were associated with LC3 overexpression (P < 0.05) but not with Beclin1 (P > 0.05). Lymph node metastasis was also related to mTOR. Spearman analysis results showed that LC3 expression was positively correlated with Beclin1 but negatively correlated with mTOR (r = 0.593 and -0.165, respectively; P < 0.01). Beclin1 expression was also not associated with mTOR (P > 0.05). Survival analysis further indicated that LC3, mTOR, and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors in CRC. Real-time PCR results and Western blot indicated that Beclin1, LC3, and mTOR expression in CRC was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues (P < 0.01). The aberrant protein expression may be associated with the development and progression of CRC. The LC3 and mTOR genes must be simultaneously detected to evaluate progression and prognosis of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Hospital Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Shuhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Hospital Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Chenbo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yangyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiangqian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Binzhou Medical University Binzhou, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Tangyue
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001343:Autophagy; D000071186:Beclin-1; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C491997:BECN1 protein, human; D000071186:Beclin-1; C477012:MAP1LC3A protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: Beclin1; Colorectal cancer; LC3; mTOR; prognosis