Objective: To investigate the expression of β-catenin in pulmonary tissues of smokers with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: Pulmonary tissues were obtained from patients who had underwent pneumonectomy in Tongji Hospital. The subjects were assigned into non-smokers without COPD (control group), smokers without COPD (smoker group) and smokers with COPD (smoker + COPD group) based on their pulmonary functions and smoking history, with 12 subjects each group. The specimens were obtained as far from the tumor focus (> 5 cm) as possible. Immunofluorescence staining, Western blot and real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to investigate the expression and localization of β-catenin in pulmonary tissues. Numerical data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation, and were assessed for significance by one-way analysis of variance followed by a Student-Newman-Keuls test for multiple comparisons. The difference of enumeration data was detected by Chi-Square test. Relationship was estimated by Pearson correlation.

Results: Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that β-catenin mainly expressed in the cell membrane of epithelial cells. There was also a positive expression in the cytoplasm and the nuclei of the epithelial cells. The number of alveolar epithelial cells with β-catenin expressed in the cytoplasm and(or) nucleus was (1.2 ± 0.6)/HP in smokers + COPD group. And the protein and mRNA expression of β-catenin in pulmonary tissues in smokers + COPD group were 0.26 ± 0.11 and 0.351 ± 0.129, respectively, which were significantly less than those of the smoker group and the control group [(5.0 ± 2.5)/HP and (8.4 ± 3.5)/HP, 0.62 ± 0.23 and 1.00 ± 0.50, 0.60 ± 0.14 and 1.03 ± 0.27]. The differences among the 3 groups were significant (F = 12.809 - 38.776, P < 0.05). Correlation analysis between β-catenin expression and pulmonary function suggested that the protein and mRNA expression of β-catenin positively related with FEV(1)%pred (P < 0.05) and FEV(1)/FVC (r = 0.402 - 0.558, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: β-catenin expression significantly was decreased in smokers with COPD, and β-catenin level in the lungs was positively correlated with pulmonary function.

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