Decreased Expression of Alpha-L-Fucosidase Gene FUCA1 in Human Colorectal Tumors

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Olalla Otero-Estévez¹  Mónica Martínez-Fernández²  Lorena Vázquez-Iglesias¹  Mar໚ Pพz de la Cadena¹  Francisco J. Rodríguez-Berrocal¹ 

[1] Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, University of Vigo, Campus As Lagoas Marcosende s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain; E-Mails:;Unit of Molecular Oncology, Department of Basic Research, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain; E-Mail:

关键词: alpha-l-fucosidase;    colorectal cancer;    FUCA1;    RT-qPCR;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms140816986

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In previous studies we described a decreased alpha-l-fucosidase activity in colorectal tumors, appearing as a prognostic factor of tumoral recurrence. The aim of this work was to extend the knowledge about tissue alpha-l-fucosidase in colorectal cancer by quantifying the expression of its encoding gene FUCA1 in tumors and healthy mucosa. FUCA1 mRNA levels were measured by RT-qPCR in paired tumor and normal mucosa tissues from 31 patients. For the accuracy of the RT-qPCR results, five candidate reference genes were validated in those samples. In addition, activity and expression of alpha-l-fucosidase in selected matched tumor and healthy mucosa samples were analyzed. According to geNorm and NormFinder algorithms, RPLP0 and HPRT1 were the best reference genes in colorectal tissues. These genes were used for normalization of FUCA1 expression levels. A significant decrease of more than 60% in normalized FUCA1 expression was detected in tumors compared to normal mucosa (p = 0.002). Moreover, a gradual decrease in FUCA1 expression was observed with progression of disease from earlier to advanced stages. These findings were confirmed by Western blot analysis of alpha-l-fucosidase expression. Our results demonstrated diminished FUCA1 mRNA levels in tumors, suggesting that expression of tissue alpha-l-fucosidase could be regulated at transcriptional level in colorectal cancer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland