Immunohistochemical Evaluation of a-Catenin, Cadherin -Associated Intercellular Protein, Expression in Human Gastric Cancer

Immunohistochemical study of a-catenin, cadherin associated intercellular protein, was performed in 36 human gastric cancer tissues. All normal epithelium strongly expressed a-catenin as well as E­ cadherin, while 67% of the tumor had reduced expression of a-catenin. Compared to E-cadherin expression, a-catenin expression was similar in 26 cases (72%), but weaker in 9 cases (25%). The reduction of a-catenin expression was associated with dedifferentiation, and infiltrative growth. These results indicated that the reduction of a-catenin expression may playa crucial role for cancer invasion through down-regulation of E-cadherin function.