Interplay of insulin-like growth factor-II, insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin-like growth factor-I receptor, COX-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-7, play key roles in the early stage of colorectal carcinogenesis.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to characterize the relationship of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II expression with IGF-I, IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-7 in early colorectal carcinogenesis. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN With the semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR, 90 human colorectal tumor tissues (63 adenomas and 27 submucosal pT1 cancers) were analyzed for IGF-II, IGF-IR, IGF-I, COX-2, and MMP-7 expression. Ninety-nine adenoma tissues and 60 pT1 cancer tissues were also analyzed immunohistochemically for IGF-II expression. Loss of imprinting of the IGF-II gene was analyzed. Paired carcinoma and adenoma tissues obtained from a carcinoma in adenoma lesion was analyzed by a cDNA array. RESULTS IGF-II mRNA expression was detected in 37.8% of the 90 colorectal tumor tissues. The frequency of IGF-II mRNA expression was significantly higher in pT1 cancer (70.4%) than in adenoma (23.8%). Immunohistochemical IGF-II expression was also more frequently detected in pT1 cancer (58.3%) than in adenoma (25.3%). Loss of imprinting of the IGF-II gene was observed in 15 (44.1%) of the 34 colorectal tumors in which IGF-II was overexpressed. IGF-II expression was positively correlated with the expression of IGF-IR and IGF-I. COX-2 and MMP-7 mRNA expression was detected in 42.2% and 77.8% of the tumor tissues, respectively, and both were positively correlated with IGF-I, IGF-II, and IGF-IR expression. IGF-II was the most differentially expressed gene between carcinoma and adenoma lesions. CONCLUSIONS IGF-II, in conjunction with IGF-IR, IGF-I, COX-2, and MMP-7, seems to play a key role in the early stage of colorectal carcinogenesis.