Abstract

ß-catenin is an ubiquitously expressed cytoplasmic protein that has a crucial role in both E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion and as a downstream signaling molecule in the wingless pathway. Stabilization of ß-catenin followed by nuclear translocation and subsequent T-cell factor/lymphoid-enhancing factor-mediated transcriptional activation has been proposed as an important step in oncogenesis. Stabilization may occur through activating mutations in exon-3 at the phosphorylation sites for ubiquitination and degradation of ß-catenin. Immunohistochemical subcellular localization of ß-catenin and mutational analysis of exon-3 of the ß-catenin gene by single-strand conformational polymorphism followed by DNA sequencing was performed on 37 samples from 31 patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Immunofluorescent staining showed nuclear localization in 15 (42%) of the 36 samples examined. Nucleotide sequencing of mobility shifts detected by single-strand conformational polymorphism revealed somatic alterations in 19 (61%) of the 31 patients analyzed. We conclude that mutations in ß-catenin are common in anaplastic thyroid cancer and that they may activate transcription, as illustrated by frequent nuclear localization of the protein. These findings support the idea that ß-catenin acts as an oncogene and contributes to the highly aggressive behavior of this tumor.