Loss of ARID1A, ARID1B, and ARID2 Expression During Progression of Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Gastric cancer is a common cancer worldwide. Chromatin remodeling complexes have emerged as tumor suppressors and include AT-rich interaction domain-containing proteins (ARIDs) 1A, 1B, and 2. We examined their expression and clarified their roles in gastric carcinogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of ARIDs was studied by immunohistochemistry in 469 gastric carcinoma and 47 adenoma samples and was analyzed according to clinicopathological factors. RESULTS: Low expression rates of ARID1A, 1B, and 2 in gastric carcinoma were 20%, 10%, and 15% respectively. ARIDs are correlated to each other. Low expression of ARID1A was related to advanced tumor and vessel infiltration. Loss of ARID1B and ARID2 was also related to tumor progression, but their relationship was weaker than that of ARID1A. CONCLUSION: ARID1A is the strongest tumor suppressor in gastric carcinogenesis among ARIDs. Their aberration might be caused by shared mechanisms such as mutation and methylation.