ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression of Notch3,DLL1 and CD133 in human colorectal adenocarcinoma and its clinical pathology meaning.Methods Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of Notch3,DLL1 and CD133 in 12 cases of normal colorectal mucosa tissue,30 cases of colorectal adenoma tissue and 50 cases of colorectal adenocarcinoma tissue,and the relationship between them and clinicopathological data wereanalyzed.Results The positive rates of Notch3,DLL1 and CD133 were 64.0 ％ (32/50),68.0 ％ (34/50) and 54.0 ％ (27/50) in colorectal carcinoma tissues,respectively,which were remarkably higher than those in colorectal adenoma tissue(26.7 ％,33.3％％,36.7 ％)and those in normal colorectal mucosa tissue (8.3％,16.7％,8.3％) (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference between the adenoma group and the normal group(P＞0.05).The expression levels of Notch3,DLL1 and CD133 were not correlated to age,gender,tumor location,degree of differentiation and the tumor size,except lymph node metastasis,in addition,the expression of Notch3 and DLL1 were also associated with Dukes staging,and The expression of DLL1 were also associated with tumor infiltration depth (P＜0.05).The expression of Notch3 protein was positively related to that of DLL1 protein(r=0.478,P=0.000).Conclusion The positive expression rates of Notch3,DLL1 and CD133 in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissue are remarkably higher than those in the normal colorectal mucosa and colorectal adenoma tissue,which prompts that the high expression of Notch3,DLL1 and CD133 may all participate in the process and metastasis of colorectal adenocarcinoma.Moreover Notch3 signalling pathway may act through the cancer stem cells and eventually regulate the initiation and development of colorectal adenocarcinoma.