Immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis of two protein tyrosine phosphatase receptors, R and Z1, in colorectal carcinoma, colon adenoma and normal colon tissues.

Two classes of proteins, namely tyrosine kinases (PTK) and phosphatases (PTP), play an important role in cell proliferation and differentiation, thus leading to an acceleration or inhibition of tumour growth. The role of the above proteins in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) growth is a well-known event. In this study we carried out immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis of colorectal carcinoma, adenoma and normal colon tissue in relation to two protein tyrosine phosphatase receptors, R and Z1. Twenty-five cases of CRC were analyzed and the results were compared with similar data obtained in non-malignant tissues. High expression of both PTP receptors was observed in all examined cases of CRC, adenoma and normal colon tissue in this study. These results are not in line with recently published data, showing that genetic coding for PTPRR and PTPRZ1 were hypermethylated in CRC's. We presume that the protein tyrosine phosphatase overexpression in colorectal carcinoma is not enough to protect from the progression of disease.