Expression and Significance of Interleukin 1α mRNA in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Quantitative analysis for the relative mRNA expression of interleukin 1α (IL-1α) in colorectal cancer and cancer-adjacent tissues, the clinical significance of which will be investigated. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the relative mRNA levels of IL-1α in 42 colorectal cancer tissues and corresponding cancer-adjacent tissues, statistically analyzing the co-relation of IL-1α mRNA levels with the differentiation, clinical stages and metastatic status of cancer. The relative content of IL-1α mRNA in colorectal tissues was 1.18 ± 0.80, and that in cancer-adjacent tissues was 0.74 ± 0.49, with a significant difference between the two groups (t=-3.12, P=0.003). The relative content of IL-1α mRNA in advance-staged (stage III-IV) colorectal cancer tissues was 1.50 ± 0.93, which was significantly higher than that in early-staged colorectal cancer tissues (1.50 ± 0.93 vs. 0.89 ± 0.52, t=-2.67, P=0.01). The relative content of IL-1α mRNA in metastatic colorectal cancer tissues was 1.59 ± 0.90, which was significantly higher than that in non-metastatic colorectal cancer tissues (1.59 ± 0.90 vs. 0.84 ± 0.50, P=0.002). Expression of IL-1α mRNA in colorectal cancer tissues is significantly elevated, and has a positive co-relation with the clinical stages and metastatic status, suggesting IL-1α might play a role in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer.