ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Signaling pathways via integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and beta-catenin are important in the initiation and progression of various malignant diseases. ILK modulates the transcription of beta-catenin and is implicated in cell migration and invasiveness. Recently, premalignant colon polyps were found to express ILK and beta-catenin. Therefore, we investigated the expression of ILK and beta-catenin in colon polyps according to the gross morphology and pathologic type. METHODS: Based on morphology, colon polyps (62) were classified as being a pedunculated polyp (Ip, 16), sessile polyp (Is, 22), or laterally spreading tumor (LST, 24). The colon polyps were classified pathologically as tubular adenomas (TAs, 47) and hyperplastic polyps (HPs, 15). The expression levels of ILK and beta-catenin in colon polyps and normal colon (6) were evaluated with immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In normal colon, ILK was not expressed, and beta-catenin stained in the cell membrane only. Based on the gross morphology of the colon polyps, no significant difference was seen in the expression of ILK and beta-catenin (p>0.05). The expression of both ILK and beta-catenin in TAs was greater than that in HPs (p<0.01): the greater the dysplasia in TAs, the more both ILK and beta-catenin were expressed (p<0.05). The grade of expression of ILK was correlated with that of beta-catenin in colon polyps (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of ILK and beta-catenin did not differ according to the morphology of colon polyps, but was expressed more in TAs than in HPs, especially in severe dysplasia.