c-myc protein distribution. Neoplastic tissues of the human colon

Abstract

There is an extensive literature documenting the increased or deregulated expression of the c-myc oncogene in human malignancies. The authors have recently devised a sensitive immunocytochemical method for studying the tissue localization of c-myc protein in tissue sections of human colon. We have compared nuclear c-myc staining using a polyclonal rabbit anti-c-myc antibody and a mouse monoclonal myc antibody NCM II 274. Microscopic observation of the tissue specific pattern of c-myc protein distribution shows that nuclear staining intensity varies in normal and neoplastic crypt cell nuclei in parallel with morphologic criteria of neoplasia. These studies yield further information on the usefulness of c-myc protein as a prognostic indicator.