Development of Gastric Tumors in ApcMin/+ Mice by the Activation of the β-Catenin/Tcf Signaling Pathway
Open Access
- 1 May 2007
- journal article
- Published by American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Cancer Research
- Vol. 67 (9), 4079-4087
- https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.can-06-4025
Abstract
Although several lines of evidence suggest the involvement of the Wnt pathway in the development of gastric cancers, the functional significance of the pathway in gastric carcinogenesis is still poorly defined. To examine the role of the Apc/β-catenin signaling pathway in the development of gastric cancers, we investigated the gastric mucosa of the ApcMin/+ mouse, which is a murine model for familial adenomatous polyposis, carrying a germ-line mutation at codon 850 of Apc. We found that aged ApcMin/+ mice spontaneously develop multiple tumors in the stomach, which are accompanied by loss of heterozygosity of Apc. Such tumors consisted of adenomatous glands with strong nuclear accumulation of β-catenin. Even a single adenomatous gland already showed nuclear accumulation of β-catenin, suggesting that Apc/β-catenin pathway is an initiating event in gastric tumorigenesis in ApcMin/+ mice. Myc and cyclin D1 expressions, which are transcriptional targets of β-catenin/Tcf, increased in the adenomatous lesions. Furthermore, β-catenin/Tcf reporter transgenic mice with ApcMin allele showed higher levels of the transcriptional activity of β-catenin/Tcf in the gastric tumors. We also treated ApcMin/+ and wild-type mice with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), an alkylating agent that induces adenomas and adenocarcinomas in the stomach. Consequently, MNU-treated ApcMin/+ mice significantly enhanced the tumor development in comparison with ApcMin/+ mice or MNU-treated wild-type mice. Several gastric tumors in MNU-treated ApcMin/+ mice showed invasion into the submucosal layer. These results indicate that the Apc/β-catenin pathway may play an important role in at least subset of gastric carcinomas. In addition, ApcMin/+ mice combined with MNU could be a useful short-term model to investigate multistage carcinogenesis in the stomach. [Cancer Res 2007;67(9):4079–87]Keywords
Other Versions
This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit:
- Carcinogenesis in Mouse Stomach by Simultaneous Activation of the Wnt Signaling and Prostaglandin E2 PathwayGastroenterology, 2006
- Colorectal cancers in a new mouse model of familial adenomatous polyposis: influence of genetic and environmental modifiersLaboratory Investigation, 2004
- Focus on gastric cancerCancer Cell, 2004
- No involvement of β-catenin gene mutation in gastric carcinomas induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea in male F344 ratsCancer Letters, 2003
- Helicobacter pyloriDoes Not Promote N-Methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced Gastric Carcinogenesis in SPF C57BL/6 MiceJapanese Journal of Cancer Research, 2002
- N‐Methyl‐N‐nitrosourea Concentration‐dependent, Rather than Total Intake‐dependent, Induction of Adenocarcinomas in the Glandular Stomach of BALB/c MiceJapanese Journal of Cancer Research, 1998
- Constitutive Transcriptional Activation by a β-Catenin-Tcf Complex in APC −/− Colon CarcinomaScience, 1997
- The Impact of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis on the Tumorigenesis and Mortality at the Several OrgansAnnals of Surgery, 1993
- Multiple Intestinal Neoplasia Caused by a Mutation in the Murine Homolog of the APC GeneScience, 1992
- Identification of FAP Locus Genes from Chromosome 5q21Science, 1991