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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2006; 12(2): 317-321
Published online Jan 14, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i2.317
Expression of Interleukin-11 and Interleukin-11 receptor α in human colorectal adenocarcinoma; Immunohistochemical analyses and correlation with clinicopathological factors
Kazuyuki Yamazumi, Toshiyuki Nakayama, Takafumi Kusaba, Chun Yang Wen, Ayumi Yoshizaki, Yuichi Yakata, Takeshi Nagayasu, Ichiro Sekine
Kazuyuki Yamazumi, Toshiyuki Nakayama, Takafumi Kusaba, Chun Yang Wen, Ayumi Yoshizaki, Yuichi Yakata, Ichiro Sekine, Department of Molecular Pathology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Takeshi Nagayasu, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Chun Yang Wen, Department of Digestive Disease, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first-authors: Kazuyuki Yamazumi and Toshiyuki Nakayama
Correspondence to: Toshiyuki Nakayama, M.D., Department of Molecular Pathology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan. toshi-n@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-95-849-7107 Fax: +81-95-849-7108
Received: June 9, 2005
Revised: June 28, 2005
Accepted: July 5, 2005
Published online: January 14, 2006
Abstract

AIM: There is strong evidence that interleukin-11 (IL-11) is involved in the regulation of tumor progression, cellular growth and differentiation. Recently, interleukin-11 receptor (IL-11R) has been detected on some cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the expression of IL-11 and IL-11R in colorectal adenocarcinoma.

METHODS: To elucidate the involvement of IL-11 and IL-11Rα in human intestinal adenocarcinomas, we examined 115 cases of surgically resected human colonic adenocarcinoma and 11 cases of adenoma by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.

RESULTS: Among 115 cases of adenocarcinoma, 100 cases (87.0%) showed positive staining in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells for the IL-11, and 87 cases (75.6%) were positive for the IL-11Rα. Six cases (54.5%) and four cases (36.4%) of 11 adenomas were positive for IL-11 and IL-11Rα, respectively. The expression of IL-11Rα correlated with the histological differentiation (P = 0.033503), the depth of tumor invasion (P = 0.006395), Dukes’ classification (P = 0.015648) and lymphatic invasion (P = 0.003865). However, the expression of IL-11Rα was not correlated with the venous invasion and the presence of lymph node metastasis. The expression of IL-11 was not correlated with any clinicopathological factors. In Western blot analysis, two human colorectal carcinoma cell lines and four tissues of surgically resected human carcinoma expressed both IL-11 and IL-11Rα proteins.

CONCLUSION: IL-11 and IL-11Rα are highly expressed in human colorectal adenocarcinoma and the IL-11Rα expression is correlated with clinicopathological factors. These findings suggest that the expression of IL-11Rα is an important factor for the invasion of human colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Keywords: IL-11; IL-11 receptor α; Colorectal cancer