Association of Alpha B-Crystallin Expression with Tumor Differentiation Grade in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Alpha B-crystallin (CRYAB, HSPB5) belongs to the small heat shock protein (HSP) family and is highly expressed in various human cancers, suggesting a crucial role in tumor progression. However, few studies have examined CRYAB expression in colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, we investigated the relationship between CRYAB expression and the clinicopathological features of CRC samples. We comparatively analyzed CRYAB protein expression in 111 CRC tissues and normal adjacent colonic tissue, observing that it was significantly lower in CRC tissues than in corresponding non-cancerous tissues. Moreover, immunohistochemical analysis showed a significant correlation between CRYAB expression and high histological grade G3 (p = 0.033). In summary, our results point to its possible application as a prognostic biomarker in CRC patients.