Han Liping, Geng Lina, Liu Xiangrong, Shi Huirong, He Wei, Wu Mei X
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.
Ultrastruct Pathol. 2011 Dec;35(6):260-6. doi: 10.3109/01913123.2011.608916.
The stress-inducible immediate early response gene X-1 (IEX-1) regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in a cell type and stimulus-dependent manner. The aim of this study was to investigate IEX-1 expression and its role in apoptosis of ovarian epithelial tumors for potential use in clinical diagnosis and therapy.
IEX-1 expression was examined in paraffin-embedded specimens from 77 patients with epithelial ovarian tumors using immunohistochemistry. Correlation between IEX-1 expression and other clinicopathological parameters was evaluated. Apoptosis of tumor cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL).
IEX-1 expression was significantly lower in ovarian cancers compared to cystadenomas and borderline tumors (p < .05). The expression was significantly associated with FIGO stage and histological grade (p < .05), but not with age, histological type, or residual tumor (p > .05). A positive correlation was also observed between IEX-1 expression and apoptotic index (p < .01) or survival (p=.005).
With the development of epithelial ovarian tumors from benign to malignant, IEX-1 expression is decreased, concomitant with a decreased rate of cell apoptosis. Thus, IEX-1 is pro-apoptotic in the development of epithelial ovarian cancer. The pro-apoptotic activity may take part in restraining tumor growth at the early stage of ovarian epithelial cancer, whereas its decreased expression probably contributes to the abnormal survival advantage for malignant cancer. Altered IEX-1 expression can potentially be a new predictor of the malignant transformation and a prognostic indicator for cancer therapy.
应激诱导即刻早期反应基因X-1（IEX-1）以细胞类型和刺激依赖性方式调节细胞增殖和凋亡。本研究旨在探讨IEX-1在上皮性卵巢肿瘤细胞凋亡中的表达及其作用，为临床诊断和治疗提供潜在依据。
采用免疫组织化学法检测77例上皮性卵巢肿瘤石蜡包埋标本中IEX-1的表达。评估IEX-1表达与其他临床病理参数之间的相关性。采用末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶介导的dUTP缺口末端标记法（TUNEL）检测肿瘤细胞凋亡情况。
与囊腺瘤和交界性肿瘤相比，卵巢癌中IEX-1的表达显著降低（p < 0.05）。IEX-1表达与国际妇产科联盟（FIGO）分期和组织学分级显著相关（p < 0.05），但与年龄、组织学类型或残留肿瘤无关（p > 0.05）。IEX-1表达与凋亡指数（p < 0.01）或生存率（p = 0.005）之间也呈正相关。
随着上皮性卵巢肿瘤从良性发展为恶性，IEX-1表达降低，同时细胞凋亡率下降。因此，IEX-1在上皮性卵巢癌发生发展过程中具有促凋亡作用。这种促凋亡活性可能在卵巢上皮癌早期参与抑制肿瘤生长，而其表达降低可能导致恶性肿瘤获得异常的生存优势。IEX-1表达的改变可能成为恶性转化的新预测指标和癌症治疗的预后指标。
