Expression of cytosolic and group X secretory phospholipase A2 genes in human colorectal adenocarcinomas

Gene expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and protein level of secretory PLA2 group X (sPLA2-X) are upregulated in human colorectal cancer and provide cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with arachidonic acid, resulting in increased levels of PGE2. Mutated ras-genes are suggested to be involved in the regulatory pathway of cPLA2 in lung cancer cells. We analysed the gene expression of cPLA2 and sPLA2-X in 42 and 38 primary colorectal tumours, respectively, with and without K-ras mutations. We found an up-regulation of cPLA2 mRNA but the induction in tumour tissues does not correlate with Ras-gene mutations. Moreover, our results cannot consistently reflect an overexpression of sPLA2-X gene in colorectal cancer tissues.