Department of Pathology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Arnold-Heller-Strasse, D-24105 Kiel, Germany.
Br J Cancer. 2013 Oct 15;109(8):2217-27. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.536. Epub 2013 Sep 5.
We investigated the expression of members of the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) signalling pathway in gastric cancer (GC) testing the following hypotheses: are these molecules expressed in GC and are they putatively involved in GC biology.
The study cohort consisted of 482 patients. The following members of the EpCAM signalling pathway were analysed by immunohistochemistry and were correlated with various clinico-pathological patient characteristics: extracellular domain of EpCAM (EpEX), intracellular domain of EpCAM (EpICD), E-cadherin, β-catenin, presenilin-2 (PSEN2), and ADAM17.
All members of the EpCAM signalling pathway were differentially expressed in GC. The expression correlated significantly with tumour type (EpEX, EpICD, E-cadherin, β-catenin, and PSEN2), mucin phenotype (EpEX, EpICD, β-catenin, and ADAM17), T-category (EpEX, E-cadherin, and β-catenin), N-category (EpEX and β-catenin), UICC tumour stage (EpEX, EpICD, β-catenin, and PSEN2), tumour grade (EpEX, EpICD, E-cadherin, β-catenin, and PSEN2), and patients' survival (EpEX, EpICD, and PSEN2). A significant coincidental expression in GC was found for EpEX, EpICD, E-cadherin, β-catenin, PSEN2, and ADAM17. Decreased immunodetection of EpEX in locally advanced GC was not associated with decreased EpCAM mRNA levels.
All members of the EpCAM signalling pathway are expressed in GC. The expression correlated significantly with each other and with various clinico-pathological patient characteristics, including patients' survival. Thus, the EpCAM signalling pathway is a highly interesting putative therapeutic target in GC.
我们研究了上皮细胞黏附分子(EpCAM)信号通路成员在胃癌(GC)中的表达,检验了以下假设:这些分子是否在 GC 中表达,以及它们是否参与 GC 的生物学过程。
研究队列由 482 名患者组成。通过免疫组织化学分析了 EpCAM 信号通路的以下成员,并将其与各种临床病理患者特征相关联:EpCAM 的细胞外结构域(EpEX)、EpCAM 的细胞内结构域(EpICD)、E-钙黏蛋白、β-连环蛋白、早老素-2(PSEN2)和 ADAM17。
EpCAM 信号通路的所有成员在 GC 中均有差异表达。表达与肿瘤类型(EpEX、EpICD、E-钙黏蛋白、β-连环蛋白和 PSEN2)、粘蛋白表型(EpEX、EpICD、β-连环蛋白和 ADAM17)、T 分期(EpEX、E-钙黏蛋白和 β-连环蛋白)、N 分期(EpEX 和 β-连环蛋白)、UICC 肿瘤分期(EpEX、EpICD、β-连环蛋白和 PSEN2)、肿瘤分级(EpEX、EpICD、E-钙黏蛋白、β-连环蛋白和 PSEN2)和患者生存(EpEX、EpICD 和 PSEN2)显著相关。在 GC 中发现 EpEX、EpICD、E-钙黏蛋白、β-连环蛋白、PSEN2 和 ADAM17 之间存在显著的伴随表达。局部晚期 GC 中 EpEX 免疫检测减少与 EpCAM mRNA 水平降低无关。
EpCAM 信号通路的所有成员均在 GC 中表达。表达彼此之间以及与各种临床病理患者特征显著相关,包括患者的生存。因此,EpCAM 信号通路是 GC 中一个非常有前途的潜在治疗靶点。