Clinicopathologic and prognostic implications of progranulin in breast carcinoma

Background  Progranulin is a newly discovered 88-kDa glycoprotein originally purified from the highly tumorigenic mouse teratoma-derived cell line PC. Its expression is closely correlated with the development and metastasis of several cancers. However, no immunohistochemical evidence currently exists to correlate progranulin expression with clinicopathologic features in breast carcinoma biopsies, and the role of progranulin as a new marker of metastatic risk and prognosis in breast cancer has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic and prognostic implications of progranulin expression in breast carcinoma and its correlation with tumor angiogenesis.

Methods  Progranulin expression was determined immunohistochemically in 183 surgical specimens from patients with breast cancer and 20 tissue samples from breast fibroadenomas. The tumor angiogenesis-related biomarker, vascular endothelial growth factor was assayed and microvessel density was assessed by counting vascular endothelial cells in tumor tissues labeled with endoglin antibody. The relationship between progranulin expression and the clinicopathologic data were analyzed.

Results  Progranulin proteins were overexpressed in breast cancer. The level of progranulin expression was significantly correlated with tumor size (P=0.004), lymph node metastasis (P <0.001) and TNM staging (P <0.001). High progranulin expression was associated with higher tumor angiogenesis, reflected by increased vascular endothelial growth factor expression (P <0.001) and higher microvessel density (P=0.002).

Conclusion  Progranulin may be a valuable marker for assessing the metastasis and prognosis of breast cancer, and could provide the basis for new combination regimens with antiangiogenic activity.

     

Expression of glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B in cutaneous malignant and benign lesions: a tissue microarray study

Background  Glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and malignant diseases. We investigated the expression of GPNMB in benign and malignant skin diseases.

Methods  Tissue microarray was performed in the skin tissues of 102 cases including malignant melanoma (MM), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and benign dermatosis. The expression of GPNMB in the tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. Twenty cases of normal skin and adjacent neoplastic normal skin tissues were selected as controls.

Results  GPNMB was positively stained in skin malignancies (38/50, 76%), which was significantly higher than that in the control and the benign skin tissues (P=0.001 and <0.001 respectively). GPNMB was positively stained in MM (13/15, 87%) and SCC (16/20, 80%) (P <0.001). Significant higher expression of GPNMB was observed in patients aged ≥65 years than those less than 65 years (n=11 and n=9 respectively, P=0.027). No significant difference of the expression rates was observed between normal control and BCC; however, stronger intensity was detected in the latter. Negative or weak expression was observed in the controls.

Conclusion  Over-expression of GPNMB correlated strongly and might play an important role in the pathogenesis of MM and SCC.

     

Expression and significance of P53 protein and MDM-2 protein in human gliomas

Background  P53 is one of the most studied tumor suppressors in the cancer research, and over 50% of human tumors carry P53 mutations. MDM-2 is amplified and/or overexpressed in a variety of human tumors of diverse tissue origin. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of P53 protein and MDM-2 protein in gliomas, and to investigate the relationship between the expression of the two proteins and the histopathological grades of glioma. The relationship between MDM-2 protein expression and P53 protein expression was also analyzed.

Methods  The expression of P53 protein and MDM-2 protein was immunohistochemically detected using monoclonal antibodies in 242 paraffin embedded tissues, including 30 normal brain tissues from patients with craniocerebral injury and 212 tissues from patients with primary glioma (grade I–II group: 5 cases of grade I, 119 cases of grade II; and grade III–IV group: 53 cases of grade III, and 35 cases of grade IV).

Results  The P53 positive rate was significantly higher in the glioma groups than in the control group (P <0.0001). The P53 positive rate was significantly higher in glioma tissues of grade III–IV than in glioma tissues of grade I–II group (P=0.001). The MDM-2 positive rate was significantly higher in glioma groups than in the control group (P <0.0001). There was no significant difference in the MDM-2 positive rate between the two glioma groups (P=0.936). The expression of P53 protein was not related to expression of MDM-2 protein (P=0.069)

Conclusions  Overexpression of P53 protein might be related to the occurrence and progression of glioma. Overexpression of MDM-2 protein may play an important role in glioma tumorigenesis, but may not be involved in glioma progression. The overexpression of MDM-2 protein was an early event in malignant transformation of glioma. MDM-2 may be a key player in glioma in its own right.

     

Expression of nucleophosmin in glandular epithelium of non-pregnant human endometrium during the menstrual cycle

Background  Nucleophosmin plays a critical role in embryonic development. This study aimed to examine the expression pattern of nucleophosmin in glandular epithelium of human endometrium during the menstrual cycle.

Methods  Endometrial tissues used for this study were obtained from 46 non-pregnant patients who underwent hysterectomy which had been performed to treat benign diseases. Nucleophosmin expression was assessed by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

Results  At the early-, mid- and late-proliferative phase, nucleophosmin mRNA was highly expressed in glandular epithelium of human endometrium. At the secretory phase, the expression of nucleophosmin mRNA was reduced in glandular epithelium in early-secretory phase, and the expression in mid- and late-secretory phases was not detected. Similarly, nucleophosmin protein was strongly expressed in endometrial glands throughout the proliferative phase, but was gradually reduced during secretory phase.

Conclusion  Nucleophosmin mRNA and protein are expressed in glandular epithelium of human endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle.

     

Correlations of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α/hypoxia-inducible factor -2α expression with angiogenesis factors expression and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Background  Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) may play an important role in the process of tumorigenesis as well as tumor progression. The aim of this study was to compare the expression between HIF-1α and HIF-2α in tumor angiogenesis and the overall impact on patient prognosis in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods  In the current work we compared the immunohistochemical expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α in surgical specimens of 140 patients with NSCLC in a tissue microarray study. Relationships between HIF-α expression and clinicopathological or angiogenic factors, including prognosis, were analyzed.

Results  High HIF-1α and HIF-2α expression was noted in 49/140 (35.0%) and in 64/140 (45.7%) of the cases, respectively. There was no direct correlation between HIF-1α and HIF-2α expression. Patients with advanced stage tumors had frequent high expression of HIF-2α (P=0.007), and we also found a significant correlation between HIF-2α and T or N stage (P=0.030 and 0.043, respectively). HIF-1α showed a marginal association with T stage (P=0.084), which showed a higher expression in early stage tumors. A significant correlation (P=0.045) was noticed between HIF-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression while the expression levels of thymidine phosphorylase (TP), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and microvessel density (MVD) were significantly higher in high HIF-2α tumors (P=0.020, 0.004, and 0.046, respectively). In addition, univariate analysis of overall survival demonstrated that HIF-2α expression, but not HIF-1α, was related to poor outcome (P=0.001) and it retained significant in multivariate analysis (P=0.036).

Conclusions  Taken together, we conclude that HIF-1α and HIF-2α may differentially regulate the major angiogenic factors in different stages of the tumor process in NSCLC. HIF-2α may play a dominant role in tumor angiogenesis and appears to be of obvious value as a significant prognostic factor in NSCLC.

     

Expression of CD44v6 and Livin in gastric cancer tissue

Background  CD44v6 plays an important role in invasion and metastasis of tumor, Livin has anti-apoptotic effects. The present study aimed to explore the expression and clinical significance of CD44v6 and Livin in gastric cancer tissue.

Methods  Streptavidin-peroxidase linked immunohistochemical method was used to determine the expression of CD44v6 and Livin in gastric cancer tissue and adjacent normal gastric tissues from 59 patients with histopathologically confirmed gastric cancer, and in gastric tissue specimens of 15 patients with gastric polyps, and 15 patients with chronic non-atrophic gastritis. The chi-square test was used for comparison of the relevant factors, Spearman’s rank correlation test was applied for relationship among positive expression of the proteins.

Results  The expresion of CD44v6 was positive in 64.4% of the gastric cancer patients; 5.1%, 0 and 13.3% in specimens of normal tissues adjacent to the cancer tissues, in gastric tissue specimens of patients with gastric polyps, and patients with chronic non-atrophic gastritis, respectively. The expression of Livin was positive in 52.5% of the gastric cancer tissues, 6.8%, 0 and 6.7% in the adjacent normal gastric tissue, specimens of patients with gastric polyps and chronic non-atrophic gastritis, respectively. The expression of CD44v6 was significantly correlated with the depth of invasion, the degree of differentiation, and lymphnode metastasis of gastric cancer (P <0.05). The positive expression rate of Livin protein was also significantly correlated with degree of differentiation of gastric cancer cells and metastasis to lymphnodes (P <0.05), but not correlated with the depth of invasion and pathological types (P >0.05). The expression of CD44v6 and Livin in the gastric cancer tissue was positively correlated (r_s=0.286, P=0.028).

Conclusions  The increased expression of CD44v6 and Livin in gastric cancer tissue may be closely related with development and progression of gastric cancer. CD44v6 and Livin may be new biological markers of gastric cancer.

     

非小细胞肺癌组织中MMP-12的表达及临床意义

目的探讨非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC)组织中MMP-12的表达及临床意义。方法应用逆转录-聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)检测12例Ⅰ期和26例Ⅱ、Ⅲ期非小细胞肺癌及癌旁组织中MMP-12 mRNA的表达;Western blot检测部分标本中MMP-12蛋白表达。结合临床病理资料,比较MMP-12 mRNA表达与非小细胞肺癌临床病理特征的关系。结果MMP-12 mRNA在38例癌旁组织中无表达,在12例Ⅰ期和26例Ⅱ、Ⅲ期癌组织中呈不同程度的表达,半定量均值分别为(0.551±0.140)和(1.082±0.424),其差异有统计学意义(P=0.001);MMP-12蛋白在癌旁组织中无表达,而在Ⅰ期癌组织中低表达,在Ⅱ、Ⅲ期癌组织中高表达。结论MMP-12在非小细胞肺癌组织中高表达,并与淋巴结的转移存在显著相关性,表明MMP-12基因转录水平异常在非小细胞肺癌的发生、发展中起了重要作用。     

转移抑制基因NM23-H1在非小细胞肺癌中的表达及临床意义

目的探讨肿瘤转移抑制基因(nm23-H1)mRNA在非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)组织中的表达及其与NSCLC临床病理特征间的关系。方法采用SYBR GreenⅠ实时荧光定量反转录聚合酶链反应(real-time qRT-PCR)方法检测48例NSCLC癌组织、10例癌旁正常肺组织以及10例良性疾病肺组织中nm23-H1 mRNA的表达水平。结果 nm23-H1 mRNA在NSCLC组的表达水平为(0.599±0.566),明显低于癌旁组的(1.232±0.328)及良性疾病肺组的(1.443±0.427)(P<0.01);NSCLC组中NM23-H1的低表达与肿瘤病理类型、癌细胞分化程度、淋巴结转移和临床分期有关(P<0.05),而与患者年龄、性别以及吸烟情况无关(P均>0.05)。结论 NSCLC组织中nm23-H1低表达,其表达量降低与NSCLC的侵袭、转移和预后有关。     

张力蛋白1抑制非小细胞肺癌细胞增殖和侵袭

目的: 探讨张力蛋白1(tensin1,TNS1)在非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)组织中的表达水平、与NSCLC患者预后的关系及其对NSCLC细胞生物学功能的影响。方法: 收集56例NSCLC患者的临床病理资料,通过电话方式进行随访,了解患者生存情况。荧光实时定量PCR(qRT-PCR)检测56例NSCLC标本和对应癌旁组织中TNS1 mRNA表达水平,分析其与NSCLC患者临床病理特征的关系。采用Kaplan-Meier法绘制生存曲线,分析TNS1 mRNA与NSCLC患者预后的关系。采用qRT-PCR和蛋白质印迹法分别检测NSCLC细胞A549、H1299与正常肺支气管上皮16HBE细胞中TNS1 mRNA和蛋白表达水平;将A549、H1299细胞各分为2组,分别转染TNS1过表达质粒(pcDNA3.1/TNS1组)和相应的空载质粒(阴性对照pcDNA3.1组);MTT实验、克隆形成实验、细胞划痕、Transwell实验分别检测细胞增殖、迁移、侵袭能力;蛋白质印迹法检测细胞上皮间质转化相关分子蛋白水平。结果： 与癌旁组织相比,NSCLC组织中TNS1 mRNA表达明显降低(P<0.05)。TNS1 mRNA表达量与NSCLC患者淋巴结转移及术后肿瘤转移相关(P<0.05),与年龄、性别、吸烟、病理分型、肿瘤大小、TNM分期无明显相关性(P>0.05)。TNS1 mRNA高表达患者的3年累积无病生存率和累积总体生存率均高于TNS1 mRNA低表达患者(P均<0.05)。A549和H1299细胞中TNS1 mRNA和蛋白表达量均明显低于16HBE 细胞(P均<0.01)。与对照组相比,pcDNA3.1/TNS1组A549和H1299细胞增殖、迁移、侵袭能力降低,E-钙黏蛋白表达明显上调(P<0.01),波形蛋白表达明显下调(P<0.01)。结论： TNS1在NSCLC组织及细胞中表达下调,与NSCLC患者预后相关,可抑制NSCLC细胞增殖和迁移。     

非小细胞肺癌中基质金属蛋白酶-10的表达

目的:探讨非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC)中基质金属蛋白酶-10(matrix metalloproteinase-10,MMP-10)的表达及其与临床参数间的关系.方法:使用RT-PCR法及免疫组化法,检测32对NSCLC癌组织及癌旁正常组织中MMP-10的表达水平,并分析其与性别、年龄、分期、分级、肿瘤大小、淋巴结转移及病理类型之间的相关性.结果:MMP-10 的表达在mRNA水平与蛋白质水平表达有差异:MMP-10 mRNA在NSCLC癌组织中的表达要显著低于癌旁正常肺组织(P＜0.05),MMP-10蛋白在肺癌癌组织中的表达要显著高于癌旁正常肺组织(P＜0.01);在NSCLC癌组织中MMP-10 mRNA 的表达与MMP-10蛋白的表达呈正相关(r=0.4672, P＜0.05),而在癌旁正常肺组织中,两者表达相关性无显著统计学差异(r=-0.003022,P＞0.05).结论:MMP-10 mRNA在肺癌癌组织中表达要低于正常组织,MMP-10蛋白在肺癌癌组织中表达要高于正常组织.     

Runx1基因mRNA表达与非小细胞肺癌发生及淋巴转移的相关性研究

目的:探讨Runx1基因mRNA表达与人非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)发生、发展的关系.方法:取37例NSCLC标本,10例肺良性病变旁正常肺组织,应用逆转录-多聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)的方法检测NSCLC中Runx1的mRNA表达水平,进行统计分析.结果:肺癌肿瘤组织中Runx1基因表达水平显著低于肺良性病变旁正常肺组织(P＜0.01),肺癌组织中Runx1基因表达水平降低与淋巴结转移相关(P＜0.05),与肺癌组织学类型、细胞分化程度以及患者的年龄、性别无关(P＞0.05).结论:与良性病变旁正常肺组织相比,Runx1基因的mRNA水平在肿瘤组织中表达下降,并且与淋巴结转移相关,提示其可能参与肺癌的发生发展过程.     

酪氨酸激酶受体RON在胃癌中的表达及意义

目的探讨酪氨酸激酶受体RON在胃癌组织中的表达及与预后的关系。方法采用免疫组化Envision法检测98例胃癌组织、29例癌旁组织和10例正常胃黏膜的RON表达及用Western-blot方法检测19例新鲜胃癌组织、癌旁组织、转移的淋巴结和10例正常胃黏膜中RON的表达情况,检测正常胃黏膜上皮细胞GES-1、胃癌细胞株HGC．27、SGC-7901、BGC．803和BGC。823的RON蛋白表达。对所有胃癌术后患者进行随访,随访期为3—89（中位时间22）个月,生存率的比较用Kaplan—Meier法估计生存曲线。结果（1）98例胃癌组织RON阳性表达率为56．1％（55／98）,29例癌旁组织RON阳性表达率为27．6％（8／29）,两者比较差异有统计学意义（P=0．007）;正常胃黏膜不表达RON;（2）RON表达与胃癌细胞浸润深度、有否伴淋巴结转移和临床病理分期有关（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）,而与Borrmann分型、组织学类型及是否伴远处转移无关（P〉0．05）;（3）RON阳性表达组与阴性组术后生存率差异无统计学意义（P=0．195）;（4）胃癌新鲜组织,相应癌旁组织和伴有胃癌转移的淋巴结中RON变异体（RONA165）均呈强表达,而正常胃黏膜和正常淋巴结未见RON变异体表达;（5）正常人胎儿胃黏膜上皮细胞GES-1、胃癌细胞株SGC-7901、BGC-803、BGC-823均有不同程度的RON蛋白表达,而未分化胃癌细胞株HGC-27未发现有RON蛋白表达。结论RON主要表达于胃癌组织而不表达于正常胃黏膜,并且与胃癌的浸润深度、是否伴有淋巴结转移和胃癌临床病理分期有关,提示RON在人胃癌发生、发展和浸润转移方面发挥重要作用。     

muc-1基因在非小细胞肺癌组织中的表达及临床意义

目的：探讨muc-1基因在非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)组织中的表达情况及其与淋巴结转移的相关性和临床意义。方法：应用RT-PCR方法检测36例NSCLC组织和10例正常肺组织中muc-1基因的表达情况。结果：36例NSCLC组织中有19例muc-1基因阳性表达,阳性表达率为52.7%,正常肺组织无muc-1表达。muc-1 mRNA在NSCLC组织中的阳性表达与患者的年龄、性别、组织学类型、病理分级、TNM分期及肿瘤大小无关（P>0.05）,与淋巴结转移有关(χ² =6.733,P<0.05)。有淋巴结转移的NSCLC组织中muc-1基因阳性表达率高（N₀　10%,N₁　58.82%,N₂　88.9%）。结论：muc-1基因阳性表达的NSCLC患者淋巴结转移率高,检测muc-1基因表达对NSCLC患者的预后和术后综合治疗具有指导性作用。     

广西非小细胞肺癌组织K-ras癌基因mRNA表达的研究

目的 探讨广西非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)组织K-ras癌基因mRNA表达及其与肺癌各临床病理特征的关系.方法 应用反转录-聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)法检测86例广西的NSCLC患者癌组织(肺癌组)和31例癌旁组织(肺组织组)中K-ras癌基因mRNA表达.结果 肺癌组K-ras癌基因mRNA表达率为80.2%(69/...     

结直肠癌组织中同源异型盒基因B7蛋白的表达及临床意义

目的 探讨同源异型盒基因B7(HOXB7)蛋白在结直肠癌中的表达及其与患者临床病理因素和预后的关系.方法 回顾性分析结直肠癌患者87例,采用RT-PCR法和免疫组织化学法分别检测结直肠癌组织中HOXB7 mRNA和HOXB7蛋白的表达,分析其表达与患者临床病理参数和预后的相关性.结果 HOXB7 mRNA在结直肠癌组织中的相对表达量为(42.4±16.3),显著高于癌旁正常组织的(19.4±7.6),差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05);HOXB7蛋白在结直肠癌组织中表达的阳性率为73.9％,显著高于癌旁正常组织的10.3％ (P＜0.05);HOXB7蛋白表达与患者TNM分期、淋巴结转移和远处转移有显著相关性(P＜0.05),且HOXB7蛋白阳性表达的患者具有更差的预后.结论 HOXB7蛋白在结直肠癌组织中表达上调,其高表达与结直肠癌患者的临床病理因素和预后相关.     

非小细胞肺癌中VEGF-C及其受体mRNA的表达与临床意义

目的：研究肺癌组织及癌旁组织中血管内皮生长因子C(vascular endothelial growth factor C,VEGF-C)及其受体mRNA的表达,分析其在肿瘤转移中的作用。方法：采用RT-PCR法分析36例新鲜肺癌组织及癌旁组织标本中VEGF-C／KDR／Fit-4mRNA的表达,并统计分析它与临床病理特点之间的关系。结果：癌旁组织(PT)中VEGF-C mRNA表达与Flt-4mRNA的表达呈显著正相关(r=0．523,P=0．0055)。肿瘤组织及癌旁组织中单一的VEGF-C、KDR或Flt-4 mRNA表达与肿瘤转移无明显相关;COMVEGF-C-3与淋巴结转移(r=0．5805,P=0．0008)及临床病理分期(r=0．5057,P=0．0064)呈明显正相关。结论：VEGF-C及其受体在肺癌组织及瘤旁组织中高表达,在肿瘤转移尤其是淋巴转移中起重要作用,COMVEGF-C-3是反映患者淋巴转移和预后的良好指标。