Chen Chao, Liu Jianhua, Xu Guoxiong
Department of Gynecology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Center Laboratory, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Cancer Biomark. 2013;13(5):315-21. doi: 10.3233/CBM-130360.
PIWI proteins belong to the Argonaute family. The human PIWI subfamily genes encode four PIWI (also known as PIWI-like) proteins: PIWIL1, PIWIL2, PIWIL3, and PIWIL4. The dysregulated expression of PIWI proteins appears to be associated with tumorigenesis.
To explore the expression of PIWI proteins in primary and metastatic tumors from patients with stage III epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), evaluate the diagnostic value of PIWI in various tissues, and analyze the characteristics of each PIWI protein associated with metastasis.
A total of 20 patients with stage III EOC were retrieved for the present study. Various tissues from the primary tumor, adjacent normal tissue, peritoneal metastasis, and lymph node with or without metastasis were examined. PIWI proteins were detected by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarray and analyzed.
PIWIL1, PIWIL2, PlWlL3, and PIWIL4 were expressed in EOC. By comparison with the adjacent normal tissues, the expression of four PIWI proteins was significantly enhanced in the primary tumor and metastatic tissues (P< 0.01).
PIWI proteins are upregulated in EOC and associated with metastasis. These proteins may be useful as diagnostic biomarkers for EOC. The function of PIWI proteins in EOC with tumor metastasis will need to be further explored.
PIWI蛋白属于AGO蛋白家族。人类PIWI亚家族基因编码四种PIWI（也称为PIWI样）蛋白：PIWIL1、PIWIL2、PIWIL3和PIWIL4。PIWI蛋白的表达失调似乎与肿瘤发生有关。
探讨PIWI蛋白在III期上皮性卵巢癌（EOC）患者原发肿瘤和转移瘤中的表达，评估PIWI在各种组织中的诊断价值，并分析与转移相关的各PIWI蛋白的特征。
本研究共纳入20例III期EOC患者。对原发肿瘤、邻近正常组织、腹膜转移灶以及有无转移的淋巴结等各种组织进行检查。使用组织芯片通过免疫组织化学检测并分析PIWI蛋白。
PIWIL1、PIWIL2、PIWIL3和PIWIL4在EOC中均有表达。与邻近正常组织相比，四种PIWI蛋白在原发肿瘤和转移组织中的表达显著增强（P<0.01）。
PIWI蛋白在EOC中上调并与转移相关。这些蛋白可能作为EOC的诊断生物标志物。PIWI蛋白在伴有肿瘤转移的EOC中的功能有待进一步探索。
