Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 45 No. 2, 2006.
Conference paper
Beta-Catenin Expression in Malignant Melanoma
Martina Žigmund
Nives Pećina-Šlaus
Vesna Kušec
Tamara Nikuševa-Martić
Mirjana Čačić
Mario Šlaus
Floriana Bulić-Jakuš
Abstract
Beta-catenin is bound to E-cadherin in adherens junction formation, but also functions as a signaling molecule in the WNT pathway. We investigated beta-catenin expression in 41 superficial spreading melanomas. Our melanoma sample was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and evaluated by image analysis as staining density, i.e. light permeability (LP). In normal skin beta-catenin showed homogenous membranous staining of the epidermis. Comparison of relative LP for beta-catenin in tumor tissue and adjacent skin did not show any differences (157.8 compared to 156.6; t = . 1.087, P = 0.283). However, the cellular location of beta-catenin changed considerably in melanoma. The protein was observed in the cytoplasm in 32% of patients, in 29% in the cell membrane, in 24% in both the cytoplasm and membrane, in 5% in the cytoplasm and nucleus, while in 9.8% of patients beta-catenin could not be observed. There was a marked difference in beta-catenin distribution correlated to the Clark stages of melanoma progression. Patients with Clark 4 and 5 had significantly less beta-catenin than patients with Clark 2 and 3 (χ2 = 11.3; P=0.01). Our results suggest that changes of beta-catenin levels have roles in melanoma development mechanisms and could be used as markers of disease progression.
Keywords
Malignant melanoma; beta-catenin; image analysis
Hrčak ID:
15442
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2006.
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