Cytoplasmic staining of Cx26 was considered to be a GJIC-independent mechanism. Cx26 may have an effect on other tumor related genes. Hong et al. reported a significant correlation between the Cx26 expression and P53 expression [17]. P53 is a common tumor suppressor gene and plays a major role in regulating

the cell cycle and apoptosis [22]. The expression of P53 in colorectal ROCK inhibitor cancer is thought to be associated with poor prognosis [23–25]. A mutation of the P53 is frequently observed in several human tumors. The expression of P53 protein is equivalent to the presence of a mutation of the p53 gene [26]. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between Cx26 and P53 protein. Cx26 expression had an inverse correlation with P53 expression. Cx26 positive tumors tended to have negative P53 expression. On the other hand, p53 gene regulates apoptosis and P53 positive tumors show decreased AI [27]. Therefore, the relationship between Cx26 and AI was investigated. However, there was no significant relationship between Cx26 and AI. In conclusion, the Cx26 see more function in cancer cells is unclear. Cx26 expression was an independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer in the current series. Therefore, an analysis of the Cx26 expression may be useful for selecting patients who

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