LGALS3 and AXIN1 gene variants playing role in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway are associated with mucinous component and tumor size in colorectal cancer

The Wnt pathway alterations have been identified in colorectal and many other cancer types. It has been reported that galectin-3 (which is encoded by the LGALS3 gene) alters the signaling mechanism in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by binding to β-catenin in colon and other cancers. AXIN1 is mainly responsible for the assembly of the β-catenin destruction complex in the Wnt pathway. This study investigated the relationship of rs4644 and rs4652 variants of the LGALS3 gene and rs214250 variants of the AXIN1 gene to histopathological and clinical properties. Our study included a total of 236 patients, of whom 119 had colorectal cancer (42 women, 77 men) and 117 were healthy controls. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) PCR methods were used. In addition, the serum galectin-3 level was studied with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. For the rs4644 variant of the LGALS3 gene, the CC genotype a mucinous component was significantly more common than those without a mucinous component (p=0.026). C allele frequency of the rs214250 variant of the AXIN1 gene was significantly correlated to tumor size in the advanced tumor stage (p=0.022). The CCAACT haplotype was more common in colorectal cancer patients (p=0.022). Serum galectin-3 level was higher in the patient group compared to the control group (5.9± 0.69 ng/ml vs. 0.79±0.01 ng/ml; p<0.001). In conclusion, variants of LGALS3 and AXIN1 genes affect tumor sizes and the mucinous component via Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer.