ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The purpose of this study was to detect the expression of GRHL2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues, and to assess the relationship between GRHL2 expression and clinicopathological features.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunohistochemistry was used to examine GRHL2 in 75 CRC tissues. GRHL2 mRNA and protein levels in the CRC tissues were also analyzed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The relationship between GRHL2 and clinicopathological features was assessed by Pearson's chi-square (χ(2)) test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Positive immunoreactivity for GRHL2 was detected in the nuclei of CRC cells. GRHL2 expression was increased in CRC tissues compared withthat in the paired non-tumor tissues (61.3% vs. 44.0%, P<0.01). Moreover, qRT-PCR results showed that the relative expression level of GRHL2 mRNA in the colorectal cancer tissue was (2.64±0.35), significantly higher than that of normal mucosa tissue (1.19±0.23, P<0.001). The expression level of GRHL2 mRNA was higher in stage III-IV patients (2.84±0.36) than that of stage I-II cases (2.31±0.32, P<0.05). Western blot results also showed that the expression level of GRHL2 protein in the colorectal carcinoma tissue was significantly higher than that in the normal mucosa (P<0.05). GRHL2 expression was positively correlated with tumor size, TNM stage and Ki-67 (P<0.05, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Taking together, our findings demonstrate that GRHL2 is overexpressed in CRC, and plays an important role in the progression of CRC.</p>