Immunohistochemical expression of FHIT gene product in inflammatory bowel disease

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Abstract
To investigate the expression of Fhit protein in 53 patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, as well as in 13 ulcerative-colitis-associated adenocarcinomas, and its eventual relationship with clinicopathological data and response to therapy. We performed immunohistochemistry in archival material of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues using the anti-Fhit antibody and the streptavidin-biotin peroxidase method. In 35/38 cases of ulcerative colitis, Fhit protein (pFhit) was absent or reduced. In the remaining three cases, it was expressed normally. In 12/15 cases of Crohn's disease, pFhit was absent or reduced, as it was in 4/13 cases of ulcerative-colitis-associated adenocarcinoma. Statistically significant differences of pFhit expression were observed between the active phase and the chronic healed phase of ulcerative colitis, and between the active phase and the normal colon mucosa. Also, statistically significant differences of pFhit expression were observed between (1) the resolving phase of ulcerative colitis and normal colon mucosa, (2) the chronic healed phase and normal colon mucosa, and (3) Crohn's disease and normal colon mucosa. Interestingly, a statistically very significant difference in pFhit expression was noticed between ulcerative colitis and ulcerative-colitis-associated adenocarcinoma. Our results show that immunohistochemical expression of pFhit is completely absent or very reduced in idiopathic bowel disease (IBD) as well as in several ulcerative-colitis-associated adenocarcinomas in north-western Greece. These findings suggest that the FHIT gene might be involved in IBD and in a subgroup of ulcerative-colitis-associated carcinogenesis, although larger series should be tested.