Mucosal tenascin C content in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the large bowel

PURPOSE: Tenascin C is a glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix. It is upregulated during embryologic development, wound healing, and under conditions of normal and neoplastic growth. Most available data on tenascin C expression in tissues is based on immunohistologic studies. The present study was designed to quantify tissue concentrations in patients with inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the large bowel. METHODS: Fifty patients with ulcerative colitis, 19 patients suffering from familiar adenomatous polyposis without malignant transformation, and 69 patients with colorectal carcinoma were investigated. Tenascin C concentrations in tissue extracts were determined by semiquantitative Western blotting. RESULTS: The tenascin C tissue concentration of normal mucosa was 2.6 +/- 3.4 mu g/mg (n = 55), 2.9 +/- 2.1 mu g/mg in colorectal adenomas (n = 19), 7.5 +/- 4.7 mu g/mg in ulcerative colitis (n = 50), and 18 +/- 15 mu g/mg in colorectal carcinomas (n = 69; mean +/- standard deviation). In ulcerative colitis, the mucosal tenascin C content correlated with histopathologic disease activity. No differences were found between subgroups of adenomas or carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: Tenascin C tissue concentrations were not altered in adenomas, slightly elevated in ulcerative colitis, and substantially increased in colorectal carcinomas. Although less useful as a diagnostic parameter, tenascin C tissue levels serve as an instrument for assessing the activity of stromal remodeling in large-bowel diseases generally. Specifically, they may reflect disease activity in ulcerative colitis.