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World J Gastroenterol. May 21, 2014; 20(19): 5839-5848
Published online May 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i19.5839
Published online May 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i19.5839
Down-regulated γ-catenin expression is associated with tumor aggressiveness in esophageal cancer
Wang-Kai Fang, Wei Gu, Jian-Yi Wu, En-Min Li, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Lian-Di Liao, Bo Chen, Jian Shen, Li-Yan Xu, Institute of Oncologic Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Zhi-Yong Wu, Department of Oncology Surgery, Affiliated Shantou Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Fang WK performed the majority of the experiments and wrote the paper; Li EM and Xu LY designed the study; Liao LD performed the statistical analysis; Wu ZY and Wu JY coordinated and collected the human material; Gu W, Chen B and Shen J contributed new reagents and analytic tools.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81101613; the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, No. S2011040004363; the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China, No. 20114402120005; the National Basic Research Program of China, No. 2012CB526600; and the Natural Science Foundation of China-Guangdong Joint Fund, No. U0932001
Correspondence to: En-Min Li, PhD, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Rd 22, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China. nmli@stu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-754-88900413 Fax: +86-754-88900847
Received: December 2, 2013
Revised: January 30, 2014
Accepted: March 6, 2014
Published online: May 21, 2014
Revised: January 30, 2014
Accepted: March 6, 2014
Published online: May 21, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: We, like others, have shown in previous work that reduced classic and desmosomal cadherin expression correlated with increased metastasis both in laboratory models and in clinical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) samples; however, a direct functional role of γ-catenin in this process has not been shown. In this study, we report that γ-catenin plays a critical role in ESCC progression. Our work demonstrates that γ-catenin is a tumor metastasis suppressor in ESCC and its expression may serve as a prognostic marker. Loss of γ-catenin leads to significant changes in esophageal cancer cell phenotypes.