Abstract: Objective To investigate the expressions of Engrailed-2 (EN2) and β-catenin in bladder urothelial carcinoma and
explore their significance. Methods Sixty bladder urothelial carcinoma samples of different grades and stages and 10 normal
bladder mucosal tissues were examined for expressions of EN2 and β-catenin proteins and mRNA using immunochemistry,
Western blotting and RT-PCR. Results Compared to normal bladder mucosa, bladder urothelial carcinoma tissues showed
significantly increased expressions of EN2 and β-catenin proteins (P<0.05), and the high-grade carcinoma tissues exhibited
significantly stronger expressions than the low-grade ones (P<0.05); the expressions of the proteins increased also significantly
with advanced pathological stages of bladder urothelial carcinoma (P<0.05). The expressions of EN2 and β-catenin mRNAs
showed a consistent pattern of changes with their protein expressions. Conclusion The expressions of EN2 and β-catenin are
significantly increased in bladder urothelial carcinoma. EN2 may contribute to the development and progression of bladder
urothelial carcinoma by activating Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway.