Deregulation of Annexin-A1 and Galectin-1 Expression in Precancerous Gastric Lesions: Intestinal Metaplasia and Gastric Ulcer

摘要

Objective.Annexin-A1 (ANXA1/AnxA1) and galectin-1 (LGALS1/Gal-1) are mediators that play an important role in the inflammatory response and are also associated with carcinogenesis. We investigated mRNA and protein expression in precancerous gastric lesions that participate in the progression cascade to gastric cancer, such as intestinal metaplasia (IM) and gastric ulcer (GU).Methods.Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and immunohistochemical techniques were used to analyze the relative quantification levels (RQ) ofANXA1andLGALS1mRNA and protein expression, respectively.Results.Increased relative expression levels ofANXA1were found in 100% of cases, both in IM (meanRQ=6.22±0.06) and in GU (meanRQ=6.69±0.10). However, theLGALS1presented basal expression in both groups (IM: meanRQ=0.35±0.07; GU: meanRQ=0.69±0.09). Immunohistochemistry revealed significant positive staining for both the AnxA1 and Gal-1 proteins in the epithelial nucleus and cytoplasm as well as in the stroma of the IM and GU groups (P<0.05) but absence or low immunorectivity in normal mucosa.Conclusion. Our results bring an important contribution by evidencing that both the AnxA1 and Gal-1 anti-inflammatory proteins are deregulated in precancerous gastric lesions, suggesting their involvement in the early stages of gastric carcinogenesis, possibly due to an inflammatory process in the gastric mucosa.