Survivin and Cyclooxygenase-2 are co-expressed in human and mouse colon carcinoma and in terminally differentiated colonocytes

In the evolution of colon rectal cancer (CRC) the imbalance between cell proliferation and apoptosis is considered one of the prominent causes of tumor induction and/or progression. In order to establish the role of anti apoptotic proteins in colon cancer development, we studied with immunohistochemical techniques the expression of Survivin in a mouse model of colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethyl-hydrazine treatment. In this mouse model Survivin was over-expressed during tumor development, showing a distribution mimicking that described in the correspondent human malignancies. We also correlated Survivin distribution with COX-2 and β-Catenin expression patterns. The co-localization of COX-2/β-Catenin/Survivin in the same epithelial cells in tumor samples lends credence to possible in vivo regulatory effects of COX-2 and β-Catenin on the intracellular Survivin levels in mouse and human colon cancer.