Aberrant expressions of β-catenin and ZEB1 in bladder cancer and their significance

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expressions of β-catenin and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) in bladder cancer tissues, and analyze their correlation and significance in bladder cancer occurrence and progression.

METHODS: The study collected 79 specimens of bladder cancer. EnVision immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expressions and distribution of β-catenin and ZEB1 protein. Their correlation was analyzed and their relationship with clinicopathological characteristics was investigated.

RESULTS: There was a significant heterogeneity in the expression of β-catenin in bladder cancer tissues. It might be distributed in the cell membrane, cytoplasm or nucleus. In low-grade clinical and pathological urothelial carcinoma, β-catenin was mainly expressed in cell membrane and cytoplasm, but in high-grade clinical pathological bladder cancer tissues, it was mostly located in cell cytoplasm and nucleus. ZEB1 in bladder cancer tissues was mainly expressed in cell nucleus, and its expression was elevated with the increased tumor pathological grade and clinical stage. The expressions of the above two proteins were significantly correlated.

CONCLUSION: Aberrant expressions of β-catenin and ZEB1 in bladder cancer tissues are relevant to bladder tumor differentiation and metastasis, and the two expressions are evidently correlated. The two proteins can be simultaneously used as candidate targets for early diagnosis and prognosis prediction.