Gelsolin and Rac1 Cytoskeleton Protein Microarray Biomarkers in Colon Cancer Metastasis

Recent studies have shown that cytoskeleton proteins may play important roles in tumor invasion and metastasis in several cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression status of two cytoskeleton proteins, gelsolin and RAS-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1), in colon cancers and the association of these proteins with tumor characteristics. The clinical, radiological, surgical, and pathological records of 40 patients with colon cancer were analyzed. The immunostaining status of Rac1 and gelsolin was investigated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of the patients, using the microarray technique. Distant organ metastasis was present in half of the patients. Lymph node metastasis was present in 10 of 20 patients without distant metastasis. Rac1 and gelsolin expressions in the preparations were measured with the immunoreactivity score. The patients with distant metastasis were found to have higher Rac1 values compared to non-metastatic cases. There was no statistically significant relationship between gelsolin and the presence of distant metastasis. Gelsolin levels of the patients without lymph node metastasis were statistically higher than those with lymph node metastasis. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between Rac1 and the presence of lymph node metastasis. High expression of Rac1 was related to distant metastasis and low expression of gelsolin was found to be associated with lymphatic metastasis in colon cancer. These results indicated that these cytoskeletal proteins can be examined to obtain information about the aggressiveness of the tumor, especially during the biopsy stage.