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Updated: May 19, 2026

In vitro Organoid Culture of Primary Mouse Colon Tumors
Published on: May 17, 2013
[The UGT1A, Nrf2 and Keap1 protein expression and significance in colon tumor]
Min Wang1, Ying-ying Qi, Shuo Chen
1Department of Geriatrics and Gastroenterology, Shandong University, Jinan, China. doctorminmin@163.com
Objective:
To investigate the role of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A (UGT1A), nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) in the tumorigenesis of colonic carcinoma.
Methods:
The expressions of UGT1A, Nrf2 and Keap1 were detected in normal colonic mucosa (24 cases), adenoma tissue (30 cases) and adenocarcinoma tissue (77 cases) by immunohistochemistry, and the relationship between their expressions and the clinical pathological characteristics was analyzed.
Results:
The positive rates of UGT1A in normal colonic mucosa, adenoma and adenocarcinoma tissue were 83.3% (20/24), 80.0% (24/30) and 53.2% (41/77), respectively. The positive rate of UGT1A in adenocarcinoma was lower than those in colonic mucosa and adenoma (all P < 0.05).On the contrary, the positive rates of Nrf2 in adenoma [70.0% (21/30)] and adenocarcinoma tissue [87.0% (67/77)] were higher than that in normal colonic tissue [41.7% (10/24), all P = 0.000]. The positive rates of Keap1 in normal colonic mucosa, adenoma and adenocarcinoma tissue were 54.2% (13/24), 70.0% (21/30) and 61.0% (47/77), respectively (normal colonic tissue vs adenocarcinoma tissue, P = 0.040; adenoma vs adenocarcinoma, P = 0.002). There was no correlation between the expression of UGT1A, Nrf2 and the clinicopathologic features of colon carcinoma, while the differences of Keap1 positive rates in the various degrees of tumor differentiation [moderately-well differentiated vs poorly differentiated: 70.0% (35/50) vs 44.4% (12/27)] and invasion [T(1)-T(2) vs T(3)-T(4): 78.8% (26/33) vs 47.7% (21/44)] were statistically significant (all P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
The decreased expression of UGT1A and the dysregulation of Nrf2/Keap1 system may play a role in colonic tumorigenesis.
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