Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 63 in total

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  1. Fulltext Variant Toll-like receptor4 (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile alleles) and Toll-like receptor2 (Arg753Gln and Arg677Trp alleles) in colorectal cancer
    Davoodi H, Seow HF
    Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2011 Jun;10(2):91-9.
    PMID: 21625017 DOI: 010.02/ijaai.9199
    The innate immune system recognizes the presence of bacterial products through the expression of a family of membrane receptors known as Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Polymorphisms in TLRs have been shown to be associated with increased susceptibility to diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between polymorphisms of TLR4 (Asp299Gly; Thr399Ile) and TLR2 (Arg677Trp; Arg753Gln) genes and risk of colorectal cancer. DNA from 60 colorectal carcinoma patients from 3 major races in Malaysia (22 Malays, 20 Chinese and 18 Indians) and blood from 50 apparently healthy individuals were evaluated. Control group were matched to study group by race and age. The polymorphisms were determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Genotyping results showed two out of sixty tumour specimens (3.3%) harbored both variant TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile alleles. In contrast, DNA isolated from blood cells of 50 apparently healthy individuals harbored wild type TLR4. In the case of TLR2 Arg753Gln genotyping, all of the fifty normal and 60 tumours were of the wild type genotype. TLR2 Arg677Trp genotyping showed a heterozygous pattern in all samples. However, this may not be a true polymorphism of the TLR2 gene as it is likely due to a variation of a duplicated ( pseudogene) region. There was only a low incidence (2/60; 3.3%) of TLR4 polymorphism at the Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile alleles in colorectal cancer patients. All normal and tumour samples harbored the wild type TLR2 Arg753 allele. Our study suggests that variant TLR4 (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile alleles) as well as TLR2 (Arg753Gln allele) are not associated with risk of colorectal cancer.
  2. Activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling by EGF downregulates membranous E-cadherin and β-catenin and enhances invasion in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells
    Yip WK, Seow HF
    Cancer Lett, 2012 May 28;318(2):162-72.
    PMID: 22182447 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2011.12.018
    Dysregulation of E-cadherin and β-catenin function in cell-cell adhesion is common in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and correlates with metastatic disease. In this study, we examined the role of EGF-activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling in E-cadherin and β-catenin regulation. We found that reduced membranous E-cadherin and β-catenin expression was positively correlated with Akt phosphorylation in NPC tissues. EGF treatment disrupted cell-cell adhesion and resulted in mesenchymal morphological features in NPC cell lines (TW01, TW04, and TW06). Western blot analysis showed that the E-cadherin protein level was partially reduced in TW04 cells only and the β-catenin levels were not considerably affected upon EGF treatment. In contrast, quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that the E-cadherin, but not β-catenin, mRNA levels were markedly reduced by EGF in all cell lines. Immunofluorescent staining revealed that E-cadherin and β-catenin appeared to be markedly reduced on the cell surface and more localized in the cytoplasm. Inhibition of PI3K by LY294002 did not abolish the EGF-induced downregulation of E-cadherin protein or mRNA in TW04 cells but moderately increased the β-catenin protein level in TW01 cells and mRNA level in TW06 cells. However, LY294002 substantially restored or increased cell surface E-cadherin and β-catenin in all EGF-treated cell lines, in concordance with the inhibition of cell morphological changes. Moreover, LY294002 significantly blocked EGF-driven cell invasion, correlating with the elevation of membranous E-cadherin and β-catenin levels. In conclusion, EGF-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition may not be only dependent on downregulation of E-cadherin protein/mRNA but also on mislocalization of E-cadherin and β-catenin. The mechanisms involved may be related, at least in part, to the PI3K-Akt pathway.
  3. Cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell does not stimulate nor inhibits T lymphocytes activation
    Tong CK, Seow HF, Ramasamy R
    Med J Malaysia, 2008 Jul;63 Suppl A:77-8.
    PMID: 19024992
    The immune modulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) had brought a new insight in cell-based neotherapy. However, recent works of MSC are focused exclusively on bone marrow-derived MSC. We evaluated the immunogenicity of cord blood-derived MSC (CB-MSC) on T lymphocytes. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were prepared by density gradient separation and culture with the presence or absence of CB-MSC. PBMC were collected for activation analysis by flow cytometry at 24-, 48-, and 72- hours. The results showed that, CB-MSC does not stimulate nor inhibit T lymphocyte activation.
  4. Fulltext Effect of cathepsin D and prostate specific antigen on latent transforming growth factor-beta in breast cancer cell lines
    Wong SF, Seow HF, Lai LC
    Malays J Pathol, 2003 Dec;25(2):129-34.
    PMID: 16196369
    Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) is present, predominantly in latent forms, in normal and malignant breast tissue. The mechanisms by which latent TGFbeta is activated physiologically remain largely an enigma. The objective of this study was to assess whether the proteases, cathepsin D and prostate specific antigen (PSA) could activate latent TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 in conditioned media of the hormone-dependent MCF-7 and hormone-independent MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell lines, newly purchased from ATCC. Both of the cell lines were seeded in 6-well plates 2 days prior to treatment with varying concentrations of cathepsin D and PSA. Active TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 in the media were then measured by ELISA after 4, 8, 24 and 72 hours of treatment. TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 mRNA expression of both cell lines were measured by RT-PCR to determine whether any increase in level of active TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 was due to increased production. There was a significant increase in only active TGFbeta2 levels in the MDA-MB-231 cell line with both treatments. Cathepsin D and PSA did not have any effect on TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 mRNA expression. Cathepsin D and PSA were unable to activate latent TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 in these two breast cancer cell lines. A constant level of TGFbeta2 mRNA in the control and treated MDA-MB-231 cells suggests that the increase in level of active TGFbeta2 was not a result of increased production but was likely to be due to activation by a mechanism independent of cathepsin D and PSA.
  5. Dual treatments targeting IGF-1R, PI3K, mTORC or MEK synergize to inhibit cell growth, induce apoptosis, and arrest cell cycle at G1 phase in MDA-MB-231 cell line
    Ayub A, Yip WK, Seow HF
    Biomed Pharmacother, 2015 Oct;75:40-50.
    PMID: 26463630 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2015.08.031
    Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are aggressive cancers that do not benefit from hormonal therapy or therapies that target HER2 receptors. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), which has been shown to be overexpressed in breast cancer, activates numerous downstream kinases that associate with cell proliferation and survival. This study compared the effects caused by dual treatments targeting IGF-1R, PI3K, mTORC, or MEK with those by single treatments in a TNBC cell line, MDA-MB-231. We used small-molecule kinase inhibitors, namely, NVP-AEW541, NVP-BKM120, KU0063794, and PD0325901 to target IGF-1R, PI3K, mTORC, and MEK, respectively. Combination treatments of PD0325901 with NVP-AEW541, NVP-BKM120 or KU0063794 and NVP-AEW541 with KU0063794 demonstrated a significant synergistic growth inhibition. These dual treatments increased apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase and enhanced the inhibition of phosphorylation of Akt or downstream molecules of mTORC1, as compared to the single treatments. Our study suggests that targeting multiple kinases in IGF-1R signaling may be a promising therapeutic approach.
  6. Fulltext Advances in targeted and immunobased therapies for colorectal cancer in the genomic era
    Seow HF, Yip WK, Fifis T
    Onco Targets Ther, 2016;9:1899-920.
    PMID: 27099521 DOI: 10.2147/OTT.S95101
    Targeted therapies require information on specific defective signaling pathways or mutations. Advances in genomic technologies and cell biology have led to identification of new therapeutic targets associated with signal-transduction pathways. Survival times of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) can be extended with combinations of conventional cytotoxic agents and targeted therapies. Targeting EGFR- and VEGFR-signaling systems has been the major focus for treatment of metastatic CRC. However, there are still limitations in their clinical application, and new and better drug combinations are needed. This review provides information on EGFR and VEGF inhibitors, new therapeutic agents in the pipeline targeting EGFR and VEGFR pathways, and those targeting other signal-transduction pathways, such as MET, IGF1R, MEK, PI3K, Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog, and death-receptor signaling pathways for treatment of metastatic CRC. Additionally, multitargeted approaches in combination therapies targeting negative-feedback loops, compensatory networks, and cross talk between pathways are highlighted. Then, immunobased strategies to enhance antitumor immunity using specific monoclonal antibodies, such as the immune-checkpoint inhibitors anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1, as well as the challenges that need to be overcome for increased efficacy of targeted therapies, including drug resistance, predictive markers of response, tumor subtypes, and cancer stem cells, are covered. The review concludes with a brief insight into the applications of next-generation sequencing, expression profiling for tumor subtyping, and the exciting progress made in in silico predictive analysis in the development of a prescription strategy for cancer therapy.
  7. Fulltext Comparison of invasion by human microvascular endothelial cell lines in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in a threedimensional (3D) cell culture system
    Ng CT, Yip WK, Mohtarrudin N, Seow HF
    Malays J Pathol, 2015 Dec;37(3):219-25.
    PMID: 26712666 MyJurnal
    Immortalized human endothelial cells are widely used as in vitro models for debilitating conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular and ocular diseases. Human microvascular endothelial cell (HMEC-1) is immortalized via stable transfection with a gene encoding SV40 large antigen whilst telomerase-immortalized human microvascular endothelial (TIME) cells is immortalized by engineering the human telomerase catalytic protein (hTERT) into primary microvascular endothelial cells. Here, we established a three-dimensional (3D) spheroid invasion assay with HMEC-1 and TIME and compared the difference in their ability to invade through the collagen matrix in response to exogenous growth factors, namely vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).
  8. Fulltext Mesenchymal stem cells inhibit proliferation of lymphoid origin haematopoietic tumour cells by inducing cell cycle arrest
    Sarmadi VH, Tong CK, Vidyadaran S, Abdullah M, Seow HF, Ramasamy R
    Med J Malaysia, 2010 Sep;65(3):209-14.
    PMID: 21939170
    We have previously shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) inhibit tumour cell proliferation, thus promising a novel therapy for treating cancers. In this study, MSC were generated from human bone marrow samples and characterised based on standard immunophenotyping. When MSC were co-cultured with BV173 and Jurkat tumour cells, the proliferation of tumour cells were profoundly inhibited in a dose dependent manner mainly via cell to cell contact interaction. Further cell cycle analysis reveals that MSC arrest tumour cell proliferation in G0/G1 phase of cell cycle thus preventing the entry of tumour cells into S phase of cell cycle.
  9. Detection of 10 medically important Candida species by seminested polymerase chain reaction
    Than LT, Chong PP, Ng KP, Seow HF
    Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 2012 Feb;72(2):196-8.
    PMID: 22154674 DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2011.10.008
    A seminested PCR detecting ten medically important Candida species were achieved. Analytical sensitivity and specificity were not compromised.
  10. Candida and invasive candidiasis: back to basics
    Lim CS, Rosli R, Seow HF, Chong PP
    Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 2012 Jan;31(1):21-31.
    PMID: 21544694 DOI: 10.1007/s10096-011-1273-3
    The ubiquitous Candida spp. is an opportunistic fungal pathogen which, despite treatment with antifungal drugs, can cause fatal bloodstream infections (BSIs) in immunocompromised and immunodeficient persons. Thus far, several major C. albicans virulence factors have been relatively well studied, including morphology switching and secreted degradative enzymes. However, the exact mechanism of Candida pathogenesis and the host response to invasion are still not well elucidated. The relatively recent discovery of the quorum-sensing molecule farnesol and the existence of quorum sensing as a basic regulatory phenomenon of the C. albicans population behavior has revolutionized Candida research. Through population density regulation, the quorum-sensing mechanism also controls the cellular morphology of a C. albicans population in response to environmental factors, thereby, effectively placing morphology switching downstream of quorum sensing. Thus, the quorum-sensing phenomenon has been hailed as the 'missing piece' of the pathogenicity puzzle. Here, we review what is known about Candida spp. as the etiological agents of invasive candidiasis and address our current understanding of the quorum-sensing phenomenon in relation to virulence in the host.
  11. Transcriptome profiling of endothelial cells during infections with high and low densities of C. albicans cells
    Lim CS, Rosli R, Seow HF, Chong PP
    Int J Med Microbiol, 2011 Aug;301(6):536-46.
    PMID: 21371935 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2010.12.002
    Systemic infections of Candida albicans, the most prevalent fungal pathogen in humans, are on the rise in recent years. However, the exact mode of pathogenesis of this fungus is still not well elucidated. Previous studies using C. albicans mutants locked into the yeast form via gene deletion found that this form was avirulent and did not induce significant differential expression of host genes in vitro. In this study, a high density of C. albicans was used to infect human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), resulting in yeast-form infections, whilst a low density of C. albicans resulted in hyphae infections. Transcriptional profiling of HUVEC response to these infections showed that high densities of C. albicans induced a stronger, broader transcriptional response from HUVEC than low densities of C. albicans infection. Many of the genes that were significantly differentially expressed were involved in apoptosis and cell death. In addition, conditioned media from the high-density infections caused a significant reduction in HUVEC viability, suggesting that certain molecules released during C. albicans and HUVEC interactions were capable of causing cell death. This study has shown that C. albicans yeast-forms, at high densities, cannot be dismissed as avirulent, but instead could possibly contribute to C. albicans pathogenesis.
  12. Fulltext Molecular responses during chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemias in predicting poor-response to standard chemotherapy
    Maha A, Cheong SK, Leong CF, Seow HF
    Malays J Pathol, 2009 Dec;31(2):81-91.
    PMID: 20514850 MyJurnal
    Signal transduction pathways are constitutively expressed in leukaemic cells resulting in aberrant survival of the cells. It is postulated that in cells of chemo-sensitive patients, chemotherapy induces apoptotic signals leading to cell death while survival signals are maintained in cells of chemo-resistant patients. There is very little information currently, on the expression of these mediators in patients immediately after chemotherapy initiation. We examined the expression pattern of proinflammatory cytokines, signaling molecules of the PI3K and MAPK pathways molecules and death receptor, DR5 on paired samples at diagnosis and during chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukaemia patients treated with cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin. The results were correlated with remission status one month after chemotherapy. We found that in chemo-sensitive patients, chemotherapy significantly increased the percentage of cases expressing TNF-alpha (p = 0.025, n = 9) and IL-6 (p = 0.002, n = 11) compared to chemo-resistant cases. We also observed an increased percentage of chemo-sensitive cases expressing DR5 and phosphorylated p38, and Jnk. Thus, expression of TNF-alpha, IL-6, DR5, phospho-p38 and phospho-Jnk may regulate cell death in chemo-sensitive cases. In contrast, a significantly higher percentage of chemo-resistant cases expressed phospho-Bad (p = 0.027, n = 9). IL-beta and IL-18 were also found to be higher in chemo-resistant cases at diagnosis and during chemotherapy. Thus, expression of various cellular molecules in leukaemic blasts during chemotherapy may be useful in predicting treatment outcome. These cellular molecules may also be potential targets for alternative therapy.
  13. Cell viability of acute myeloid leukaemia blasts in culture correlates with treatment outcome
    Maha A, Cheong SK, Leong CF, Seow HF
    Hematology, 2008 Feb;13(1):13-20.
    PMID: 18534060 DOI: 10.1179/102453308X315762
    Despite the advances in understanding the pathophysiology of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the cure rate for acute myeloid leukaemia patients remains low. Cytogenetic abnormalities and age are the prognostic factors that guide treatment decisions. However, many AML patients still die. The biological factors that influence treatment outcome are largely unknown. Thus, the objective of our study was to use the in vitro viability test to correlate with treatment outcome. Acute myeloid leukaemia blasts demonstrated differing ability to survive in culture. Our examination of blast phenotype at various days in culture showed two possible growth directions. First, cells underwent maturation by increased expression of CD16 and down-regulated CD34 (a haemopoietic stem cell marker). These cells also appeared to have undergone apoptosis. Alternatively, cells continued to survive in culture and maintained high expression of CD34. An MTT assay was carried out to determine viability after three days of culture. Lower optical density values were obtained for samples that underwent apoptosis and higher values were obtained for samples that survived in culture. Apoptosis was measured by Annexin V/propidium iodide staining. A comparison between results of MTT assay and duration of disease free survival revealed that a higher viability in vitro correlated significantly with shorter survival duration in the patient (R -0.761, p=0.002, n=13). Thus, this study further supports the hypothesis that AML patients with poor survival may be related to having blasts with a biologically more immature or stem cell-like nature.
  14. The immunosuppressive effects of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells target T cell proliferation but not its effector function
    Ramasamy R, Tong CK, Seow HF, Vidyadaran S, Dazzi F
    Cell Immunol, 2008 Feb;251(2):131-6.
    PMID: 18502411 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2008.04.009
    Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are non-haematopoietic stem cells that are capable of differentiating into tissues of mesodermal origin. MSC play an important role in supporting the development of fetal and adult haematopoiesis. More recently, MSC have also been found to exhibit inhibitory effect on T cell responses. However, there is little information on the mechanism of this immunosuppression and our study addresses this issue by targeting T cell functions at various level of immune responses. We have generated MSC from human adult bone marrow (BM) and investigated their immunoregulatory function at different phases of T cell responses. MSC showed the ability to inhibit mitogen (CD3/CD28 microbeads)-activated T cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. In order to evaluate the specificity of this immunosuppression, the proliferation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were measured. MSC equally inhibit CD4(+) and CD8(+) subpopulations of T cells in response to PHA stimulation. However, the antiproliferative effect of MSC is not due to the inhibition of T cell activation. The expression of early activation markers of T cells, namely CD25 and CD69 were not significantly altered by MSC at 24, 48 and 72h. Furthermore, the immunosuppressive effect of MSC mainly targets T cell proliferation rather than their effector function since cytotoxicity of T cells is not affected. This work demonstrates that the immunosuppressive effect of MSC is exclusively a consequence of an anti-proliferative activity, which targets T cells of different subpopulations. For this reason, they have the potential to be exploited in the control of unwanted immune responses such as graft versus host disease (GVHD) and autoimmunity.
  15. Fulltext Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) 30-bp deletion and Xho I-loss is associated with type III nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Malaysia
    See HS, Yap YY, Yip WK, Seow HF
    World J Surg Oncol, 2008;6:18.
    PMID: 18275617 DOI: 10.1186/1477-7819-6-18
    Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a human epithelial tumour with high prevalence amongst Chinese in Southern China and South East Asia and is associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The viral genome harbours an oncogene, namely, the latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) gene and known variants such as the 30-bp deletion and loss of XhoI restriction site have been found. Less is known about the relationship between these variants and the population characteristics and histological type.
  16. A phage-displayed single chain variable fragment that interacts with hepatitis B core antigen: library construction, selection and diagnosis
    Tan GH, Yusoff K, Seow HF, Tan WS
    J Clin Virol, 2007 Jan;38(1):49-56.
    PMID: 17074533
    Phage display is an alternative method for constructing and selecting antibodies with desired specificity towards an antigen.
  17. Comparative analysis of viral RNA and apoptotic cells in bursae following infection with infectious bursal disease virus
    Kong LL, Omar AR, Hair-Bejo M, Aini I, Seow HF
    Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis, 2004 Nov;27(6):433-43.
    PMID: 15325516
    Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens infected with very virulent (vv) infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) UPM94/273 developed lower pathogenicity compared to UPM97/61. Sequence analysis indicated that UPM94/273 is an exceptional vvIBDV. In this study, a SYBR Green I based real-time reverse transcriptase reaction assay was developed to measure viral RNA in the bursae of SPF chickens infected with IBDV. Specificity of the amplified products was confirmed by melting temperature analysis. A linear relationship was observed between the amount of input viral RNA and the threshold values for IBDV-specific product over five log10 dilutions. The viral RNA level following infection with UPM94/273 was significantly higher at day 1 and 2 post-inoculation (p.i.) compared to UPM97/61 infected chickens. However, chickens infected with UPM97/61 had significantly higher numbers of bursal cells undergoing apoptosis compared to UPM94/273 infected chickens. In both groups, the number of apoptotic cells and viral RNA levels peak at day 3 p.i. This study indicates that UPM97/61 and UPM94/273 have different efficiency of replication and percentage of apoptotic cells in bursae during the acute phase of IBDV infection.
  18. Antigenicity and immunogenicity of the immunodominant region of hepatitis B surface antigen displayed on bacteriophage T7
    Tan GH, Yusoff K, Seow HF, Tan WS
    J Med Virol, 2005 Dec;77(4):475-80.
    PMID: 16254965
    The immunodominant region of hepatitis B virus (HBV) located in the viral small surface antigen (S-HBsAg) elicits virus-neutralizing and protective antibodies. In order to develop an easy and inexpensive method to produce this region without the need for extensive purification, amino acid residues 111-156 of S-HBsAg were fused to the C-terminal end of the 10B capsid protein of T7 phage. Western blotting and ELISA confirmed the expression of the recombinant protein on the surface of the phage particles. The recombinant phage exhibited the antigenic and immunogenic characteristics of HBsAg, illustrating its potential as an immunological reagent and vaccine.
  19. A phage-displayed cyclic peptide that interacts tightly with the immunodominant region of hepatitis B surface antigen
    Tan WS, Tan GH, Yusoff K, Seow HF
    J Clin Virol, 2005 Sep;34(1):35-41.
    PMID: 16087122
    The surface antigen (HBsAg) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is highly conformational and generally evokes protective humoral immune response in human. A disulfide constrained random heptapeptide library displayed on the coat protein III of filamentous bacteriophage M13 was employed to select specific ligands that interact with HBsAg subtype ad. Fusion phages carrying the amino acid sequence ETGAKPH and other related sequences were isolated. The binding site of peptide ETGAKPH was located on the immunodominant region of HBsAg. An equilibrium binding assay in solution showed that the phage binds tightly to HBsAg with a relative dissociation constant (KDrel) of 2.9+/-0.9 nM. The phage bearing this peptide has the potential to be used as a diagnostic reagent and two assays for detecting HBsAg in blood samples are described.
  20. A comparative study of the expression of Wnt-1, WISP-1, survivin and cyclin-D1 in colorectal carcinoma
    Khor TO, Gul YA, Ithnin H, Seow HF
    Int J Colorectal Dis, 2006 May;21(4):291-300.
    PMID: 16041507
    BACKGROUND AND AIMS: It is well accepted that activation of Wnt signalling occurs in colorectal carcinoma (CRC), but the correlation amongst the various proteins involved in primary tumours are still unclear. The expression of the inducer of this pathway, Wnt-1, and the downstream effectors, WISP-1, cyclin-D1 and survivin proteins, was compared in a series of CRC tissues with the apparently normal adjacent tissues to determine the relationship of these proteins.

    PATIENTS AND METHODS: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of 47 CRCs surgically resected at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) between 1999 and 2000 were used. Immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibodies against cyclin-D1 and survivin and polyclonal antibodies against Wnt-1 and WISP-1 was performed. Results of immunohistochemistry were analysed for correlation between biomolecules and histopathological data of the patients.

    RESULTS: Of the 47 CRCs, 26 (55.3%), 15 (31.9%), 5 (10.6%) and 28 (59.6%) of the tumours exhibited positivity for Wnt-1, WISP-1, cyclin D1 and survivin, respectively. A lower percentage of the 40 apparently normal adjacent tissues were found to be positive for Wnt-1 (7, 17.5%), WISP-1 (+/-5, 12.5%) and survivin (13, 32.5%), but cyclin D1 was not detected in any of them. Interestingly, the total scores of Wnt-1, WISP-1 and survivin were significantly higher in CRC tissues (p=0.001, 0.034 and 0.044, respectively). Using the Spearman rank correlation test, a positive linear relationship was found between total Wnt-1 score with total WISP-1 score (rho=0.319, p=0.003) and total survivin score (rho=0.609, p=or<0.001). The expression of WISP-1 in the CRC tissues was found to be positively correlated with patients older than 60 years old (p=0.011). In addition, nuclear cyclin-D1 expression was found to be associated with poorly differentiated CRC tissues (p<0.001, Table 5) and right-sided CRC tumour (p=0.019, Table 6). Total WISP-1 score was associated with well-differentiated CRC tissues (p=0.029).

    CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression and interplay between Wnt-1, WISP-1, survivin and cyclin-D1 may play a role in tumorigenesis, possibly by promoting cell cycle checkpoint progression, accelerating cell growth and inhibiting apoptosis. Our data may provide useful information towards the search for potent therapeutic targets towards the development of novel treatment strategies for CRC.

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