Expression of transforming growth factor alpha messenger rna in the normal and neoplastic gastro-intestinal tract

✍ Scribed by L. T. Malden; U. Novak; A. W. Burgess

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 757 KB
• Volume: 43
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910430305

✦ Synopsis

The presence of TGFa mRNA has been reported previously to occur in primary colon cancers. We report the expression of the normal 4.5 kb TGFa transcript in the mucosa of the normal human gastro-intestinal tract from oesophagus through to colon. The highest levels of human TGFa mRNA occurred in the duodenum but significant levels were present in all of the rnucosa. Similarly, in the rat gastro-intestinal tract, TGFa transcripts were detected in the lower gastrointestinal tract mucosa. The relative abundance of the TGFa mRNA appeared to decrease in distal regions of the gastrointestinal tract. The level of the TGFa mRNA was similar in both the normal and the neoplastic colon tissue. Similarly, in 2 patients with carcinomas, the TGFa mRNA was expressed at similar levels in the tumour and in adjacent mucosa. Although TGFa mRNA is associated with transformed cells from the gastro-intestinal tract, the presence of this mRNA at equivalent concentrations in normal mucosa suggests that over-production of TGFa is not an essential feature of carcinomas in the gastro-intestinal tract.