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Variation in Blood and Colorectal Epithelia’s Key Trace Elements Along with Expression of Mismatch Repair Proteins from Localized and Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

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A Correction to this article was published on 22 October 2020

A Correction to this article was published on 22 June 2019

This article has been updated

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is an increasingly common medical issue affecting millions worldwide, and contribution of the body’s trace elements to CRC is arguable. The concentrations and buffered status of selenium, iron, copper, zinc, and phosphorus in blood and large intestinal tissues of CRC patients are, respectively, variable and vital for cell physiology. The aim of this study was to assess selenium, iron, copper, zinc, and phosphorus variations in blood and colorectal epithelia along with examining the expression of mismatch repair proteins in CRC patients with/without metastasis for potential diagnosis/therapy. Concentrations of selenium, iron, copper, zinc, and phosphorus in blood of healthy versus CRC patients and colorectal epithelia (adenocarcinomatous versus non-adenocarcinomatous/control) were measured in 40 CRC patients (55.87 ± 11.9 years old) with/without metastasis before surgery using ICP-OES. Mismatch repair (MMR) protein expression was analyzed through histopathological/immunohistochemistry assays, which was sparse in 5 CRC patient’s colorectal tissues (12%). Compared with healthy individuals, blood and colorectal tissue’s levels of phosphorus, copper, and iron were significantly higher in the CRC patients, and more pronounced in metastatic CRC patients; conversely, blood and colorectal tissue’s selenium levels were significantly lower in metastatic patients. Unlike blood zinc, cancerous colorectal tissue’s zinc concentration was significantly lower in CRC patients compared to healthy control cohorts. There was no significant difference on the measured elements in samples from CRC patients with MMR− compared to CRC patients with MMR+. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed a correlation of blood iron, zinc, copper, and phosphorus to CRC, and inappropriately low levels of blood and colorectal selenium correlated with exacerbated metastasis. Altered levels of selenium, iron, copper, zinc, and phosphorus in vivo may impact the pathogenesis and detection of CRC, and their diagnostic/therapeutic potential in CRC would be revealing.

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Change history

  • 22 June 2019

    The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The name of “Ali Ghorbani Ranjbary” is now corrected in the author group of this article. The original article has been corrected.

  • 22 October 2020

    The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Per Hydbring for critically reading and editing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathobiology, Section Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Ali Ghorbani Ranjbary

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Jalil Mehrzad

  3. Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Hesam Dehghani

  4. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Research Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Hesam Dehghani

  5. Surgical Oncology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Abbas Abdollahi

  6. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Saman Hosseinkhani

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  1. Ali Ghorbani Ranjbary
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  2. Jalil Mehrzad
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  4. Abbas Abdollahi
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  5. Saman Hosseinkhani
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Correspondence to Jalil Mehrzad.

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The original version of this article was revised: The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The name of “Ali Ghorbani Ranjbary” is now corrected in the author group of this article.

Clinical implications

This study showed that the levels of Se, Fe, Cu, Zn, and P in colorectal cancer (CRC) could be important for pinpointing the mechanism of CRC, CRC metastasis, and diagnosis. Although the levels of Fe, Cu, Zn, and P were not affected by the status of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, levels of Se could play a role in regulating the oncoprotein load in large intestinal epithelia and thereby dictate CRC metastasis. The diagnostic potential of these elements in CRC would be revealing.

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Ranjbary, A.G., Mehrzad, J., Dehghani, H. et al. Variation in Blood and Colorectal Epithelia’s Key Trace Elements Along with Expression of Mismatch Repair Proteins from Localized and Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients. Biol Trace Elem Res 194, 66–75 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01749-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01749-9

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