ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Expression of granulocyte colony stimulating factor receptor in human colorectal cancer

X Yang, F Liu, Z Xu, C Chen, X Wu, G Li, J Li

Medical College, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jingsu, China

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Mr X Yang
Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, 305 Zhongshangdong Road, Nanjing, 210002, China; yangxd96{at}hotmail.com

Aims: To discover if human colorectal cancer expresses granulocyte colony stimulating factor receptor (G-CSFR) and if granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) plays an important part in the development and progression of human colorectal cancer.

Methods: Forty two specimens of colorectal cancer and normal colorectal mucosa were investigated, taken from the colon or rectum in group of colorectal cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique were used to show G-CSFR expression. The relation between expression of G-CSFR and clinical or pathological factors was analysed.

Results: Immucohistochemical analyses showed that G-CSFR was expressed in the human colorectal cancer (25 of 42, 59.52%) and seemed to be up-regulated compared with the normal mucosa (14 of 42, 33.33%, p<0.001). In pronounced contrast with mostly strongly positive tumours, corresponding normal colorectal mucosa was negative or weakly positive. A significant correlation was found between G-CSFR expression and tumour stage (p = 0.001), tumour differentiation (p<0.001), but there was no significant relation between the expression of G-CSFR and the age, sex, and tumour size (p = 0.346, p = 0.686, p = 0.459). In RT-PCR, 21 of all 42 tumours had G-CSFR mRNA expression, while only 11 of 42 normal colorectal mucosa had such expression.

Conclusions: These data show that G-CSFR is commonly expressed in human colorectal cancers, thus supporting a possible role for G-CSF in colorectal cancer physiology.

Abbreviations: G-CSFR, granulocyte colony stimulating factor receptor; CRC, colorectal cancer; IHC, immunohistochemistry; RT-PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

Keywords: granulocyte colony stimulating factor receptor; colorectal cancer; immunohistochemistry; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

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