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(American Journal of Pathology. 2003;163:2543-2553.)
© 2003 American Society for Investigative Pathology

ß1C Integrin Expression in Human Endometrial Proliferative Diseases

Mariarosaria Lovecchio^*, Eugenio Maiorano, Rosa A. Vacca^*, Giuseppe Loverro, Margherita Fanelli, Leonardo Resta, Sergio Stefanelli, Luigi Selvaggi, Ersilia Marra^* and Elda Perlino^*

From the Institute of Biomembranes and Bioenergetics,^* National Research Council, Bari; the Departments of Pathological Anatomy and Genetics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Internal Medicine and Public Medicine, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy

Integrins are ubiquitous cell adhesion molecules that are involved in maintaining normal tissue morphology and have been implicated in the aggressive behavior of several malignancies. ß1C integrin is an alternatively spliced variant of the ß1A integrin subunit that, at variance with ß1A, inhibits epithelial cell proliferation. ß1C integrin is expressed in non-proliferative, benign prostatic epithelium and is down-regulated in prostatic adenocarcinoma. In the current study, we examined ß1C expression at mRNA and protein levels in 18 endometrial adenocarcinoma and in 20 endometrial hyperplastic tissues, using Northern and Western blotting analysis and immunohistochemistry. The pattern of integrin expression was compared to that of the endometrium of 14 normal cycling women. The results of this study document inhibited ß1C integrin expression in endometrial adenocarcinoma, both at the mRNA and protein levels, at variance with significantly up-regulated ß1C mRNA expression in endometrial hyperplasia, in comparison with normal proliferative endometria. Our data suggest a key role of the regulation of ß1C integrin expression in the pathogenesis of endometrial proliferative diseases: ß1C integrin may act as growth modulator in cancer cells, playing a role in downstream intracellular signaling.

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