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Published on: October 30, 2012
Overexpression of Grb2-associated binder 2 in human lung cancer
Xiu-Li Xu1, Xia Wang, Zhao-Li Chen
1Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University, Heping District, Tianjin 300070, China.
Objective:
Grb2-associated binder 2 (Gab2), a member of the family of Gab scaffolding adaptors, transmits and amplifies the signals from receptor tyrosine kinases. A recent study demonstrated that Gab2 was over-expressed in breast cancers and metastatic melanomas, and Gab2 was an oncogenic protein. However, the roles of Gab2 in lung cancers are largely unknown.
Method:
In this study, to investigate whether Gab2 expression could be a characteristic of lung cancers, we analyzed the expression of Gab2 in 88 lung frozen tissue samples and 122 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens, using quantitative real-time-PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot.
Results:
We found that the positive expression rate of Gab2 in the tumor tissues, as detected by immunohistochemistry, 62.5% in squamous cell cancers, 51.35% in adenocarcinomas, and 75% in other types of lung cancers, was significantly higher than that (12%) in normal lung tissues. The mRNA expression detected by quantitative real-time-PCR and protein expression detected by western blotting in different groups were consistent with the immunohistochemical results.
Conclusion:
Our data indicate that Gab2 is over-expressed in malignant lung tissues compared with that in normal lung tissues, and suggest that Gab2 expression may play a role in lung cancer development.
Insights
Grb2-associated binder 2 (Gab2) is over-expressed in lung cancer tissues compared to normal lung tissues. This suggests Gab2 may play a role in the development of lung cancer.
Area of Science:
- Molecular biology
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Grb2-associated binder 2 (Gab2) is a scaffolding adaptor protein involved in signal transduction from receptor tyrosine kinases.
- Gab2 amplification is implicated in breast cancer and melanoma, but its role in lung cancer remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression of Gab2 in lung cancer tissues.
- To determine if Gab2 expression is a potential biomarker for lung cancer.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Gab2 expression in 88 frozen and 122 paraffin-embedded lung tissue samples.
- Quantitative real-time-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blot techniques were employed.
Main Results:
- Gab2 was significantly over-expressed in various lung cancer types (squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, other) compared to normal lung tissues (62.5%, 51.35%, 75% vs. 12% positive expression).
- mRNA and protein expression levels corroborated immunohistochemical findings.
Conclusions:
- Gab2 is over-expressed in malignant lung tissues.
- Gab2 expression may contribute to lung cancer development.
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