Aberrant activation of hedgehog signaling pathway contributes to endometrial carcinogenesis through β-catenin

• Published in: Modern pathology 2009-06, Vol.22 (6), p.839-847
• Main Authors: Liao, Xiaoyun, Siu, Michelle KY, Au, Christy WH, Chan, Queeny KY, Chan, Hoi Yan, Wong, Esther SY, Ip, Philip PC, Ngan, Hextan YS, Cheung, Annie NY
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - genetics; Adenocarcinoma - metabolism; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; beta Catenin - metabolism; Blotting, Western; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Endometrial Neoplasms - genetics; Endometrial Neoplasms - metabolism; Endometrial Neoplasms - pathology; Female; Hedgehog Proteins - metabolism; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Immunoprecipitation; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Laboratory Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; original-article; Pathology; Signal Transduction - physiology; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Zinc Finger Protein GLI1
• ISSN: 0893-3952; 1530-0285
• DOI: 10.1038/modpathol.2009.45

The hedgehog and Wnt signaling pathways play important roles in human cancers with possible interaction. This study aimed at analysis and correlation of the expression of Gli1 , a transcriptional factor and target gene of hedgehog signaling pathway, with clinicopathological parameters and expression of β -catenin, an important member of the Wnt pathway, in normal, hyperplastic and malignant endometrium. Immunohistochemical study on 15 normal endometrium, 14 simple and complex hyperplasia without atypia, 37 atypical complex hyperplasia and 80 endometrial cancers showed significant Gli1 overexpression and β -catenin nuclear immunoreactivity in endometrial cancers and atypical endometrial hyperplasia when compared with normal endometrium ( P