First Department of Pathological Anatomy, Medical Faculty of Masaryk University and St. Anne´s University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic.
J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 2011 Dec;20(4):389-96.
Nestin is considered to be a marker of stem/progenitor cells in different tissues. Nestin expression was also described in various tumors. In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), its role in cancer cell migration, invasion, and metastases has been suggested. The study aimed at examining the expression of nestin in PDAC, and to evaluate its clinicopathological correlations.
The expression of nestin was immunohistochemically examined in 117 PDAC resection specimens, analyzed, and correlated with clinico-pathological parameters including perineural invasion (PNI). Analysis of nestin expression in nerve fibers in tissues of chronic pancreatitis (CP) was added.
Immunohistochemical analysis of nestin expression showed 79 nestin negative (67.5 %) and 38 nestin positive (32.5 %) PDACs. No significant correlations of nestin expression in tumor cells with the analyzed clinicopathological parameters were demonstrated. Tumor grade (p<0.001) and nodal status (p=0.009) proved to represent independent prognostic factors. PNI was identified in 94 PDAC (80.3 %), and did not correlate with nestin expression. Nestin immunostaining was displayed in nerve fibers of both CP and PDAC tissues.
An intimate link of nestin to a biological process of pancreatic cancer was confirmed. The expression of nestin did not prove to be a valuable prognostic factor and an immunohistochemical assessment of nestin expression is not superior to conventional prognostic factors in PDAC. A correlation between nestin expression in tumor cells and PNI was not confirmed and expression of nestin in nerve fibers of both PDAC and CP tissues seems to reflect the process of neural remodeling responsible for pancreatic neuropathy.
巢蛋白被认为是不同组织中干细胞/祖细胞的标志物。巢蛋白在各种肿瘤中也有表达。在胰腺导管腺癌（PDAC）中，它在癌细胞迁移、侵袭和转移中的作用已被提出。本研究旨在检测巢蛋白在 PDAC 中的表达，并评估其与临床病理参数的相关性。
对 117 例 PDAC 切除标本进行巢蛋白免疫组织化学检测，分析并与包括神经周围侵犯（PNI）在内的临床病理参数相关。还分析了慢性胰腺炎（CP）组织中神经纤维中巢蛋白的表达。
巢蛋白表达的免疫组织化学分析显示，79 例 PDAC 中巢蛋白阴性（67.5%），38 例 PDAC 中巢蛋白阳性（32.5%）。肿瘤细胞巢蛋白表达与分析的临床病理参数之间无显著相关性。肿瘤分级（p<0.001）和淋巴结状态（p=0.009）被证明是独立的预后因素。94 例 PDAC 中存在 PNI（80.3%），与巢蛋白表达无关。巢蛋白免疫染色在 CP 和 PDAC 组织的神经纤维中均有显示。
巢蛋白与胰腺癌的生物学过程密切相关。巢蛋白的表达不能证明是一个有价值的预后因素，而且在 PDAC 中，巢蛋白表达的免疫组织化学评估并不优于传统的预后因素。肿瘤细胞巢蛋白表达与 PNI 之间的相关性未得到证实，PDAC 和 CP 组织中神经纤维的巢蛋白表达似乎反映了负责胰腺神经病变的神经重塑过程。
