Integrin-Linked Kinase,Snail and Multidrug Resistance Protein 1: Three concordant players in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer

Background: integrin linked kinase (ilk),snail and multidrug resistance protein 1 (mrp1) have been implicated in several cancers; however,their roles in non-small cell lung cancer (nsclc) remain to be elucidated. aim: investigation of their expression in nsclc tissue. relationships among these proteins and their association with clinicopathological parameters were studied. materials and methods: ilk,snail and mrp1 expression were immunohistochemically assessed in 97 tumor tissues. furthermore,western blot analysis for ilk,snail and mrp1 in 6 cases of nsclc was also performed. results: ilk overexpression,positive snail and mrp1 expression were found in 46.4%,36.1% and 49.5% of tumors respectively. ilk expression was significantly correlated with tumor grade (p = 0.013),lymph node (ln) metastases (p = 0.001) and stage (p = 0.001). positive snail and mrp1 expression were significantly associated with ln metastasis (p = 0.004 and 0.022,respectively) and advanced stage disease (p = 0.018 and 0.024,respectively). mrp1 expression was significantly higher among adenocarcinoma cases compared to other types (p = 0.001). ilk over-expression was significantly associated with up-regulation of snail and mrp1 (p < 0.001 both). significant association was also,found between snail and mrp1 expression (p = 0.005). moreover,the co-expression of two markers or more was significantly associated with less differentiation (p = 0.011),advanced tumor status (p = 0.030),ln metastasis (p < 0.001) and advanced stage (p < 0.001) disease. western blot analysis validated immunohistochemical findings. conclusion: ilk may have an important role in the progression of nsclc,possibly through up-regulation of snail and mrp1. ilk,snail and mrp1 are important molecular markers for predicting carcinogenesis and progression of nsclc. © 2015 the authors.