Overexpression of Wnt-2 in colorectal cancers

The binding of the Wnt ligand to its receptor Frizzled. activates the Wnt canonical signaling pathway in carcinogenesis as well as many cellular processes, including cellular proliferation and differentiation. Wnt-2, one of 19 members of the Wnt gene family, is frequently overexpressed in malignant tissues. Here, in order to investigate the role of Wnt-2 in colorectal carcinogenesis, we examined the expression of the Wnt-2 protein in 120 colorectal cancers by immunohistochemistry. Wnt-2 protein was expressed in the cell membrane and cytoplasm and up-regulated in 74 (61.7%) of 120 colorectal cancers. Statistically, overexpression of Wnt-2 protein was not associated with the clinical and pathological parameters studied, including tumor location, tumor size, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, and 5-year Survival (P > 0.05). These results indicate that up-regulation of the Wnt-2 protein might play a role in the development of colorectal cancers, as an early event of carcinogenesis.