Colorectal Cancer

By Christina Towers, PhD

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm. D., PhD.

Bone morphogenetic proteins such as GDF15 belong to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFB) family that directs tissue differentiation and maintenance. GDF15 appears to be involved in a variety of physiological processes such as pregnancy, injury and inflammation, and apoptosis. Evidence suggests GDF15 is a marker for metastasis.

 Ovarian carcinoma is disease that eludes early diagnosis and has a high mortality rate. In a diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma, one of the most common problems is to distinguish between a primary ovarian and colorectal adenocarcinoma (1).

The myeloid differentiation protein MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary response protein) was originally identified and characterized as a primary upregulated response gene in interleukin-6 mediated myeloid differentiation.

E-Cadherin is a member of the cadherin superfamily and is fundamental player in a wide range of cellular processes such as development, morphology, polarity, migration and tissue integrity. Specifically, E-cadherin is an approximately 100 kDa epithelial cell glycoprotein whose extracellular domain interacts with that of other E-cadherin molecules on adjacent cells to establish cell-cell adhesion. This adhesion is Ca^2+-dependent and a variety of interactions have been identified.