Expression of cohesin proteins and nano-architectural changes in rectal mucosa to assess risk of colon cancer based on field carcinogenesis

• Main Author: Davis, Ari B.
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Medicine; Chromosomal instability; Cohesin; Colorectal cancer; Field effect
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/14662

With 50,310 related deaths this year, colorectal cancer (CRC) has emerged as the second largest cause of cancer related deaths among Americans. While 70 million Americans are considered at-risk of developing CRC, it is highly curable if detected early. Cohesin proteins, which hold sister chromatids together during replication, have emerged as a potential biomarker in multiple cancer lines. Because of their probable role in DNA replication, DNA repair, chromatin nano-architecture, and gene expression, this paper assessed whether cohesion proteins could be used as a potential biomarker for colorectal cancer risk stratification. While cohesin protein mutations have been reported in different cancers and involved in chromosomal instability, its role in early cancer formation has yet to be observed. Using immunohistochemical and Quantitative Real Time PCR analysis, this thesis assessed the protein and RNA expression levels of cohesin proteins SA-1, NIPBL, and SMC3 from human biopsies at different stages and locations of colorectal cancer development. The results showed that SA-1, a structural cohesion subunit, was significantly (p<0.01) down regulated in cancerous compared to normal tissue. The SA-1 protein was also down regulated in the involved mucosa adjacent to CRC polyps. The cohesion loading protein, NIPBL, was also significantly (p<0.01) under expressed in cancerous versus normal tissue. The RNA expression analysis of rectal mucosa showed that SMC3 and SA-1 was over expressed two fold in patients harboring hyperplastic and adenomous polyps, giving evidence that cohesin proteins are differentially expressed throughout the field of carcinogenesis. Our results demonstrate for the first time that cohesion dysregulation is an early event in human colorectal cancer development and may serve as an important biomarker of field carcinogenesis.