Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Short Communication
  • Published:

RUNX3 protein is overexpressed in human basal cell carcinomas

Oncogene volume 25, pages 7646–7649 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Basal cell carcinomas (BCC), which are the most common form of skin malignancy, are invariably associated with the deregulation of the Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signalling pathway. As such, BCC represent a unique model for the study of interactions of the Shh pathway with other genes and pathways. We constructed a tissue microarray (TMA) of 75 paired BCC and normal skin and analysed the expression of β-catenin and RUNX3, nuclear effectors of the wingless-Int (Wnt) and bone morphogenetic protein/transforming growth factor-β pathways, respectively. In line with previous reports, we observed varying subcellular expression pattern of β-catenin in BCC, with 31 cases (41%) showing nuclear accumulation. In contrast, all the BCC cases tested by the TMA showed RUNX3 protein uniformly overexpressed in the nuclei of the cancer cells. Analysis by Western blotting and DNA sequencing indicates that the overexpressed protein is normal and full-length, containing no mutation in the coding region, implicating RUNX3 as an oncogene in certain human cancers. Our results indicate that although the deregulation of Wnt signalling could contribute to the pathogenesis of a subset of BCC, RUNX3 appears to be a universal downstream mediator of a constitutively active Shh pathway in BCC.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andl T, Reddy ST, Gaddapara T, Millar SE . (2002). Dev Cell 2: 643–653.

  • Bae SC, Choi JK . (2004). Oncogene 23: 4336–4340.

  • Behrens J, von Kries JP, Kuhl M, Bruhn L, Wedlich D, Grosschedl R et al. (1996). Nature 382: 638–642.

  • Blyth K, Cameron ER, Neil JC . (2005). Nat Rev Cancer 5: 376–387.

  • Boonchai W, Walsh M, Cummings M, Chenevix-Trench G . (2000). Arch Dermatol 136: 937–938.

  • Cameron ER, Neil JC . (2004). Oncogene 23: 4308–4314.

  • Chan EF, Gat U, McNiff JM, Fuchs E . (1999). Nat Genet 21: 410–413.

  • Chen YG, Meng AM . (2004). Cell Res 14: 441–449.

  • Dahmane N, Lee J, Robins P, Heller P, Ruiz i Altaba A . (1997). Nature 389: 876–881.

  • Daya-Grosjean L, Couve-Privat S . (2005). Cancer Lett 225: 181–192.

  • El-Bahrawy M, El-Masry N, Alison M, Poulsom R, Fallowfield M . (2003). Br J Dermatol 148: 964–970.

  • Gianakopoulos PJ, Skerjanc IS . (2005). J Biol Chem 280: 21022–21028.

  • Goodrich LV, Johnson RL, Milenkovic L, McMahon JA, Scott MP . (1996). Genes Dev 10: 301–312.

  • Gregorieff A, Clevers H . (2005). Genes Dev 19: 877–890.

  • Huber O, Korn R, McLaughlin J, Ohsugi M, Herrmann BG, Kemler R . (1996). Mech Dev 59: 3–10.

  • Ito K, Liu Q, Salto-Tellez M, Yano T, Tada K, Ida H et al. (2005). Cancer Res 65: 7743–7750.

  • Ito Y, Miyazono K . (2003). Curr Opin Genet Dev 13: 43–47.

  • Kawai S, Sugiura T . (2001). Bone 29: 54–61.

  • Kim WJ, Kim EJ, Jeong P, Quan C, Kim J, Li QL et al. (2005). Cancer Res 65: 9347–9354.

  • Ku JL, Kang SB, Shin YK, Kang HC, Hong SH, Kim IJ et al. (2004). Oncogene 23: 6736–6742.

  • Li QL, Ito K, Sakakura C, Fukamachi H, Inoue K, Chi XZ et al. (2002). Cell 109: 113–124.

  • Logan CY, Nusse R . (2004). Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 20: 781–810.

  • Marigo V, Tabin CJ . (1996). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93: 9346–9351.

  • Mori T, Nomoto S, Koshikawa K, Fujii T, Sakai M, Nishikawa Y et al. (2005). Liver Int 25: 380–388.

  • Reddy S, Andl T, Bagasra A, Lu MM, Epstein DJ, Morrisey EE et al. (2001). Mech Dev 107: 69–82.

  • Rubin AI, Chen EH, Ratner D . (2005). N Engl J Med 353: 2262–2269.

  • Rubinfeld B, Robbins P, El-Gamil M, Albert I, Porfiri E, Polakis P . (1997). Science 275: 1790–1792.

  • Saldanha G, Ghura V, Potter L, Fletcher A . (2004). Br J Dermatol 151: 157–164.

  • Salto-Tellez M, Lee SC, Chiu LL, Lee CK, Yong MC, Koay ES . (2004). Clin Chem 50: 1082–1086.

  • Unden AB, Zaphiropoulos PG, Bruce K, Toftgard R, Stahle-Backdahl M . (1997). Cancer Res 57: 2336–2340.

  • van Wijnen AJ, Stein GS, Gergen JP, Groner Y, Hiebert SW, Ito Y et al. (2004). Oncogene 23: 4209–4210.

  • Weeraratna AT . (2005). Cancer Metast Rev 24: 237–250.

  • Yamazaki F, Aragane Y, Kawada A, Tezuka T . (2001). Br J Dermatol 145: 771–777.

  • Yanada M, Yaoi T, Shimada J, Sakakura C, Nishimura M, Ito K et al. (2005). Oncol Rep 14: 817–822.

  • Yanagida M, Osato M, Yamashita N, Liqun H, Jacob B, Wu F et al. (2005). Oncogene 24: 4477–4485.

  • Ziegler A, Leffell DJ, Kunala S, Sharma HW, Gailani M, Simon JA et al. (1993). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90: 4216–4220.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. M Salto-Tellez and SH Tan are recipients of Singapore Cancer Syndicate Grants MN005 and BS002, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.

Author information

Author notes

  1. M Salto-Tellez and B K Peh: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, National University Hospital, Yong Loo Lin Medical School, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore

    M Salto-Tellez, P Y Chong & R Soong

  2. Oncology Research Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore

    M Salto-Tellez, B K Peh, K Ito, P Y Chong, H C Han, K Tada, R Soong & Y Ito

  3. National Skin Centre, Singapore, Singapore

    S H Tan & W Y Ong

  4. Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore, Singapore

    K Ito, D C Voon & Y Ito

Authors
  1. M Salto-Tellez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. B K Peh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K Ito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S H Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. P Y Chong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. H C Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. K Tada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. W Y Ong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. R Soong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. D C Voon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Y Ito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y Ito.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Salto-Tellez, M., Peh, B., Ito, K. et al. RUNX3 protein is overexpressed in human basal cell carcinomas. Oncogene 25, 7646–7649 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209739

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209739

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links