Background The Wnt signaling pathway regulates crucial cellular processes, including stem cell development and tissue repair. Dysregulation of this pathway, particularly β-catenin stabilization, is linked to colorectal carcinoma and other tumors. Axin2, a critical component in the pathway, plays a role in β-catenin regulation. This study examines Axin2 expression in normal gastric mucosa and various gastric pathologies.
Methods Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue samples from normal stomach, gastritis, intestinal metaplasia (IM), and gastric carcinoma were collected. Axin2 and β-catenin expression were evaluated using RNA in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Histo-scores (H-scores) were calculated to quantify expression levels of Axin2. Associations between Axin2 expression and clinicopathological variables were examined.
Results Axin2 expression was examined in normal stomach, gastritis, and IM tissues. Axin2 expression was mainly observed in the surface and isthmus areas in the normal stomach and gastritis, whereas Axin2 expression was markedly higher at the bases of IM. Axin2 H-scores were significantly elevated in IM (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 87.0 ± 38.9) compared to normal (mean ± SD, 18.0 ± 4.5) and gastritis tissues (mean ± SD, 33.0 ± 18.6). In total, 30% of gastric carcinomas showed higher Axin2 expression. Axin2 expression did not have significant associations with age, sex, Lauren classification, histological differentiation, invasion depth, and lymph node metastasis. However, a strong positive correlation was observed between Axin2 and nuclear β-catenin in gastric carcinomas (p < .001).
Conclusions Axin2 expression was significantly increased in IM compared to normal and gastritis cases. In addition, Axin2 showed a strong positive association with nuclear β-catenin expression in gastric carcinomas, demonstrating a close relationship with abnormal Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Single-cell time-course transcriptomic analysis reveals epithelial remodeling in human gastric corpus organoids after WNT pathway perturbation Na-Yeon Kim, Seung-Pyo Hong, Dakyung Lee, Kyunghyuk Park, Bukyoung Cha, Taekyung Lee, Jong-Il Kim Organoid.2026; 6: e4. CrossRef
The role of AXIN2 gene variant in hypodontia: a case-control study Bahram Qalandarzehi, Alireza Arabshahi, Pegah Tehrani, Yegane Piroozan, Michael Faqih, Ebrahim Alijani, Mohammad Mahdi Farshad, Razieh Akhtar, Hossein Shahriari Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics.2026;[Epub] CrossRef
A review of potential mechanisms and treatments of gastric intestinal metaplasia Yueyao Wu, Kehan Zhang, Yichao Zheng, Haifeng Jin European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.2025; 37(4): 383. CrossRef
Refining NTRK Fusion Detection in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Through Pan-TRK Immunohistochemistry and Histopathologic Features Hyun Lee, Sue Youn Kim, Ji Min Park, Seung-Hyun Jung, Ozgur Mete, Chan Kwon Jung Endocrine Pathology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
AXIN2 variants, tooth agenesis, and cancer risk: a systematic review Nutthakarn Ratanasereeprasert, Narin Intarak, Chayanit Chaweewannakorn, Mushriq Abid, Anand Marya, Sung-dae Cho, Thantrira Porntaveetus BMC Oral Health.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Discovery of Atirmociclib (PF-07220060): A Potent and Selective CDK4 Inhibitor Gary M. Gallego, Cynthia Palmer, Suvi Orr, Louise Bernier, Ping Chen, Sujin Cho-Schultz, Judith G. Deal, Klaus Dress, Martin Edwards, Mehran Jalaie, Eric Johnson, Robert Kania, John C. Kath, Jennifer Lafontaine, Sacha Ninkovic, Neal Sach, Hong Shen, Lars Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.2025; 68(24): 26085. CrossRef
Listening to the Past, Shaping the Future: A Data-mining Based and Visual Analysis of Five Decades of Gastric Carcinogenesis Research Tai Zhang, Xudong Tang Biological Procedures Online.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Postbiotics Combination Synergises the Antiproliferative Effects of Doxorubicin in Gastric Cancer Cells: A Cellular and Molecular Deep Dive Radwa A. Eladwy, Mohamed Fares, Muhammad A. Alsherbiny, Dennis Chang, Chun-Guang Li, Deep Jyoti Bhuyan International Journal of Molecular Sciences.2025; 27(1): 362. CrossRef