Assessment of CMKLR1 level in colorectal cancer and its correlation with angiogenic markers.

INTRODUCTION:Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common malignant neoplasm in men and third in women. It is also the third leading cause of cancer-related death, killing annually >700,000 patients in the world. The global burden of CRC is expected to increase by 60% to >2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030. The pathogenesis of cancer mainly depends on angiogenesis. This process plays a key role in the growth and infiltration of tumors which is essential for distant metastases. A large number of biochemical pathways is involved in the regulation of angiogenesis. As a subject of our study, we chose chemerin/chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) pathway which is responsible for the angiogenic processes in malignant neoplasms. AIM OF THE STUDY:To assess the CMKLR1 level and the concentrations of the two markers of angiogenesis, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, in tumor and margin tissues of CRC in relation to histological grade and TNM classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The study used 47 samples of tumor and margin tissues derived from CRC patients. To determine the concentration of CMKLR1, MMP-9, and VCAM-1, we used the commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. RESULTS:We found a significantly higher concentration of CMKLR1 and MMP-9 in tumor tissue compared to margin. There was no difference in VCAM-1 concentration between tumor and margin. The margin concentration of CMKLR1 was significantly correlated with that of both MMP-9 and VCAM-1. The margin concentration of VCAM-1 was correlated with that of MMP-9. Additionally, we observed that the tumor levels of CMKLR1 and MMP-9 were positively correlated with the tumor size (T parameter). CONCLUSION:CMKLR1 activity may be associated with the angiogenic process in CRC via MMP-9 activity. Further research, involving a larger sample, may verify whether chemerin/CMKLR1 axis could be considered as a suitable target in novel molecular therapies.

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