Expression of ets-1 and ets-2 in colonic neoplasms

Investigation of transcription regulators in carcinoma can contribute greatly to clarifying the biological character of the carcinoma. In this study, we examined the expression of ets-1 and ets-2, prominent transcription regulators belonging to the ets family, in various colonic tissues.

We investigated the expression of ets-1 and ets-2 in normal colon, hyperplastic polyps, adenomas, carcinoma-in-adenoma and colonic adenocarcinomas by means of immunohistochemistry.

Expression of ets-1 and ets-2 was not observed in normal colon and hyperplastic polyp. The ets-1 labeling index significantly increased with the successive events of colonic carcinogenesis. A similar tendency was observed for ets-2 expression in colonic neoplasms. In adenocarcinoma, ets-1 and ets-2 expression was directly linked to lymph node metastasis.

These results suggest that ets-1 and ets-2 may act as transcription regulators of the genes related to colonic carcinogenesis and the progression of colonic adenocarcinoma.