Background: beta-catenin has recently been reported to act as a cell growth promoter through cyclin D1 transcription. However, the correlation between beta-catenin and cyclin D1 expressions is not fully understood in endometrial tissues.
Materials and methods: Immunohistochemical expression of beta-catenin was examined in normal endometria (32 cases) and endometrial carcinomas (82 cases), and its expression was compared with that of cyclins (D1, E, A, B1).
Results: Sporadic nuclear staining of beta-catenin and cyclins was observed from proliferative phase of early secretory phase endometria, however, spacial correlations between beta-catenin and cyclins were not evident. In endometrial carcinomas, positivity for nuclear beta-catenin and cyclins increased compared to the normal endometria. Topologically, the cyclin D1-positive cells were frequently found in nuclear beta-catenin-positive cells. In addition, Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed that the nuclear expression of beta-catenin correlated positively with that of cyclin D1 (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion: The beta-catenin-cyclin D1 pathway might be involved in the growth of endometrial carcinomas.