Expression and clinical significance of SALL4 and β-catenin in colorectal cancer

Previous studies on the expression of Sal-like 4 (SALL4), a zinc finger transcription factor, had conflicting results in colorectal cancer (CRC). The main aim of this study was to investigate the expression of SALL4 and its relationship with β-catenin in CRC. Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the expression of SALL4 and β-catenin in a cohort of 149 patients with CRC, 12 with atypical hyperplasia, 25 with benign tumor and 38 with normal tissue. Expression patterns of SALL4 and β-catenin and correlation with clinicopathological features were investigated. The relationship between SALL4 and β-catenin was examined by immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation using CRC cell lines, SW480, SW620, HCT116 and HT29. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significantly lower expression of SALL4 in CRC (46.3 %) than atypical hyperplasia (68.0 %, p