Assessment of FOXO4 Gene Expression and Serum Keap-1, Aldolase, IL-18, and IL-22 Levels in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Haneen S.  Lazem; Zahraa A.  Sharba; Ghassan M.  Sulaiman; Zainab H.  Fasial; Khalil A. A.  Khalil; Elsadig M. Ahmed

doi:10.24996/ijs.2025.66.8.13

Authors

Haneen S. Lazem Division of Biotechnology, Department of Applied Sciences, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
Zahraa A. Sharba Division of Biotechnology, Department of Applied Sciences, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
Ghassan M. Sulaiman Division of Biotechnology, Department of Applied Sciences, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6388-3849
Zainab H. Fasial Oncology Teaching Hospital, Medical City, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq
Khalil A. A. Khalil Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia / Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medical and Medical Sciences, University of Hodeidah, Yemen
Elsadig M. Ahmed Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia / Department of Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Elmam El Mahdi, Sudan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24996/ijs.2025.66.8.13

Keywords:

Colorectal cancer, KEAP-1, aldolase, IL-18, IL-22 , FOXO4‎

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent form of cancer worldwide, yet there is a scarcity of research on the serum levels of interleukins (ILs) in patients with CRC, with only a limited number of studies having been published to date. The present work aimed to investigate the contributions of selected blood molecules, namely IL-18 and IL-22, Kelch-like ECH associated protein-1 (Keap-1), aldolase (ALD), and forkhead O4 (FOXO4). The analysis involved 60 CRC patients and30 healthy subjects who served ascontrol. The serum levels of IL-22, IL-18, Keap-1, and ALD were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while FOXO4 expression was measured by RT-qPCR. Serum levels of IL-18, IL-22, and Keap-1 were not statistically significant among patients with varying Dukes' stages, tumor sizes, histological grades, and different situations of distant metastasis of cancer cells (P>0.05). While ALD show a highly significant differences between patients and control group (P<0.05)The expression of FOXO4 is down-regulated and was statistically different (P<0.05) in patients with CRC. These findings showed that levels of interleukins in the serum cannot be used as a marker for cancer. However, our results on the ALD enzyme showed a significant elevation in CRC patients in comparison with the healthy subjects, which may have future implications for confirming the incidence of colon cancer.