b Post-chemotherapy specimen from sample CCRG64. Abbreviations: dc, diffuse cytoplasmic; dn, diffuse nuclear; fc, focal cytoplasmic; fn, focal

nuclear High frequency of HGF/c-Met related activation of β-catenin in HB To investigate the possibility of Wnt-independent activation of β-catenin, we analysed our tumour cohort for possible HGF/c-Met related tyrosine phosphorylation of β-catenin. We stained the hepatoblastoma PD173074 mw tissue array using an antibody recognising tyrosine 654-phosphorylated β-catenin (Y654-β-catenin). This identified positive staining in the cytoplasm of 82/98 (83%) tumours with an additional 27 (28%) showing nuclear accumulation of Y654-β-catenin. In 78 hepatoblastoma with wild type CTNNB1, 26 (33%) showed nuclear expression of Y654-β-catenin, 44 (56%) selleck chemicals showed cytoplasmic

staining with only 7 (9%) negative for staining. In contrast, IHC analysis of 20 hepatoblastoma with CTNNB1 mutations or possible deletions showed 5 (25%) were completely negative for Y654-β-catenin (Figure 2a), 14 (70%) had cytoplasmic staining alone (Figure 2b), and only one of 20 (5%) had nuclear expression in addition to cytoplasmic staining (Figure 2c). Figure 2 Immunohistochemical staining of HB using an antibody to Y654-β-catenin. (a) Hepatoblastoma negative for staining with an antibody to Y654- β-catenin. (b) Diffuse cytoplasmic staining of Y654- β-catenin. (c) Nuclear and cytoplasmic staining of Y654- β-catenin in hepatoblastoma. Statistical analysis shows a significant correlation between nuclear accumulation of tyrosine-phosphorylated β-catenin and HB tumours with Selleckchem RG7112 wild-type CTNNB1 (P-value = 0.015). To verify that tyrosine phosphorylation of β-catenin is specifically due to activation of the HGF/c-Met pathway we examined the expression of tyrosine 1234 and 1235-phosphorylated c-Met. These tyrosine residues become auto-phosphorylated specifically in response to HGF ligand binding.

Eighty-one tumour samples check details (82%) were positive for Y1234/5-c-Met staining (Figure 3a) and the remaining 17 samples were negative (Figure 3b). A single tumour sample showed a distinct nuclear staining pattern with the antibody to Y1234/5-c-Met (Figure 3c). Statistical analysis showed a 70% correlation between Y1234/5-c-Met and Y654-β-catenin expression (r = 0.7). No correlations between staining patterns and histologic subtypes were found with any of the antibodies used. Figure 3 Immunohistochemical staining of HB using an antibody to Y1234/5-c-Met. (a) Hepatoblastoma positive for staining with an antibody to Y1234/5-c-Met. (b) Negative staining of Y1234/5-c-Met. (c) Nuclear staining of Y1234/5-c-Met seen in a single case of hepatoblastoma.