The role of Notch signaling pathway and Wnt signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of Wilm’s tumor

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of Notch signal pathway and Wnt signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of Wilm’s tumor. Methods The samples of Wilm’s tumor and corresponding non-tumor kidney tissues were collected. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Notch1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) and immunohistochemistry respectively. Human nephroblastoma cell lines (SK-NEP-1) were treated with Notch inhibitor γ-secretase Inhibitor (DAPT), and the signal pathways of Wnt and Notch were detected by Western blotting. Results Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that Notch1 protein expression in WT group with stages of 2, 3 and 4 was 0.519 3±0.008 6, 0.616 8±0.002 2, and 0.892 6±0.006 0respectively, which was significantly higher than in the control group (0.205 3±0.009 3, P<0.05). The mRNA expression of Notch1 and VEGF was higher in the observation group than that in the control group. After treatment of SK-NEP-1 cells with different concentrations of DAPT, the Notch1 and Jagged1 protein expression was significantly decreased as compared with ths in the control group, and the Wnt1 and β-catenin protein expression levels were also reduced apparently, and VEGF expression also significantly decreased. Conclusion Notch and Wnt signaling pathways participate in promoting the occurrence of Wilm’s tumor, and up-regulated Notch and Wnt protein levels may be associated with malignant degree of Wilm’s tumor. Key words: Notch signal pathway; Wnt signal pathway; Wilm’s tumor