Role of BAX, BCL-2, and MICAL-2 Genes in Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common gastrointestinal tract cancers. In cancer cells, interactions take place between apoptosis and cell proliferation and there is a positive correlation between BAX and BCL-2 genes expression levels and cancerous process. The MICAL-2 gene encodes monooxygenase enzyme which causes F-actin instability. Increasing the expression of this gene plays an important role in Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancerous tissue and consequently causes metastases. Since no study of MICAL-2, BAX, and BCL2 genes in esophageal cancer has been reported, the present study aimed to determine the expression of these genes in esophageal cancer patients in Kerman, Iran, in 2017-2018 using Real Time RT-qPCR.

A case-control study was designed to determine the changes in the expression level of BAX, BCL2, and MICAL-2 genes. A total of 40 samples (20 fresh tissues and 20 Paraffin Embedded tissues) and marginal non-tumor control tissues were obtained. First, total mRNAs of the samples were extracted, and then after cDNA synthesis, the expression rates of MICAL2, BAX, and BCL2 were determined using Real-Time RT-qPCR. The data were analyzed using descriptive and deductive statistic methods (Generalized Linear Models) at α < 0.05 via SPSS software (v.20).

The expression levels of MICAL2 (1.2%) and BCL2 (2.04%) in patients with esophageal cancer were higher than those of normal tissues, while BAX (0.46%) gene expression in the normal tissue was higher than that of the cancerous ones. In the pathologic study, it was found that 62.5% of the samples were esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Regarding the changes in the expression of BAX, BCL2, and MICAL2 genes in esophageal cancer, for determination of the expression level in individuals who have a family history of this problem, these genes can be used as biomarkers, because the diagnosis of cancer in the early stages have definitely a better response to therapies.