Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins (MIPs) Contribute to Malignant Potential of Colorectal Polyps and Modulate Likelihood of Cancerization Associated with Standard Risk Factors

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick

Better understanding of molecular changes driving neoplastic transformation is essential to improve risk assessment and guide chemopreventive and surveillance strategies. Evidence for macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIPs) in colorectal carcinogenesis is limited and their clinical relevance remains unclear. Using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry in 173 and 62 patients, CCL3, CCL4, CXCL2 and CCL19 expression was linked to polyp characteristics and malignancy modeling by probit regression.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Molecular background and clinical relevance

Materials and Methods

Patient cohorts and biomarker detection

Results

Expression changes across polyp grades

Associations with malignancy likelihood

Discussion

Implications for cancerization prediction

Article Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins (MIPs) Contribute to Malignant Potential of Colorectal Polyps and Modulate Likelihood of Cancerization Associated with Standard Risk Factors Jarosław Wierzbicki 1,†, Iwona Bednarz-Misa 2,†, Łukasz Lewandowski 2, Artur Lipi ´nski 3, Anna Kłopot 2, Katarzyna Neubauer 4 and Małgorzata Krzystek-Korpacka 2, * Citation: Wierzbicki, J.; Bednarz-Misa, I.; Lewandowski, Ł.; Lipi ´nski, A.; Kłopot, A.; Neubauer, K.; Krzystek-Korpacka, M. Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins (MIPs) Contribute to Malignant Potential of Colorectal Polyps and Modulate Likelihood of Cancerization Associated with Standard Risk Factors. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 1383 . [https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031383](https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031383) Academic Editors: Matteo Fassan and Luca Saragoni Received: 7 December 2023 Revised: 15 January 2024 Accepted: 19 January 2024 Published: 23 January 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Department of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Proctology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland; [jaroslaw.wierzbicki@umw.edu.pl](jaroslaw.wierzbicki@umw.edu.pl) 2 Department of Biochemistry and Immunochemistry, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland; [iwona.bednarz-misa@umw.edu.pl](iwona.bednarz-misa@umw.edu.pl) (I.B.-M.); [lukasz.lewandowski@umw.edu.pl](lukasz.lewandowski@umw.edu.pl) (Ł.L.); [anna.klopot@umw.edu.pl](anna.klopot@umw.edu.pl) (A.K.) 3 Department of Clinical Pathology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland; [artur.lipinski@umw.edu.pl](artur.lipinski@umw.edu.pl) 4 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland; [katarzyna.neubauer@umw.edu.pl](katarzyna.neubauer@umw.edu.pl) * [Correspondence: malgorzata.krzystek-korpacka@umw.edu.pl](Correspondence: malgorzata.krzystek-korpacka@umw.edu.pl)[ ](Correspondence: malgorzata.krzystek-korpacka@umw.edu.pl)† These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: Better understanding of molecular changes leading to neoplastic transformation is prerequisite to optimize risk assessment and chemopreventive and surveillance strategies. Data on macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIPs) in colorectal carcinogenesis are scanty and their clinical relevance remains unknown. Therefore, transcript and protein expression of CCL3, CCL4, CXCL2, and CCL19 were determined in 173 and 62 patients, respectively, using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry with reference to polyps’ characteristics. The likelihood of malignancy was modeled using probit regression. With the increasing malignancy potential of hyperplastic–tubular–tubulo-villous–villous polyps, the expression of CCL3, CCL4, and CCL19 in lesions decreased. CCL19 expression decreased also in normal mucosa while that of CXCL2 increased. Likewise, lesion CCL3 and lesion and normal mucosa CCL19 decreased and normal CXCL2 increased along the hyperplasia–low–high dysplasia grade. The bigger the lesion, the lower CCL3 and higher CXCL2 in normal mucosa. Singular polyps had higher CCL3, CCL4, and CCL19 levels in normal mucosa. CCL3, CCL4 and CXCL2 modulated the likelihood of malignancy associated with traditional risk factors. There was no correlation between the protein and mRNA expression of CCL3 and CCL19 . In summary, the polyp-adjacent mucosa contributes to gaining potential for malignancy by polyps. MIPs may help in specifying cancerization probability estimated based on standard risk factors. Keywords: CCL3; CCL4; CXCL2; CCL19; malignancy risk; colorectal cancer; adenoma; adenocarcinoma; chemoprevention; dysplasia 1. Introduction Despite recent progress in early diag

FAQs

What problem does the study address about colorectal carcinogenesis?

The study targets limited knowledge about how macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIPs) relate to molecular events during colorectal neoplastic transformation and whether they have clinical relevance for predicting cancerization.

Which biomarkers were measured in the patients?

The study measured CCL3, CCL4, CXCL2, and CCL19 at transcript and protein levels using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry.

How were the likelihood of malignancy and its relationship to biomarkers analyzed?

Malignancy likelihood was modeled using probit regression, and associations were evaluated across polyp characteristics and dysplasia grading.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick