Zhai Jianwen, Wang Yanchen, Yang Fushen, Hu Jigang, Qi Qingbin, Zhang Yanli
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Engineering, Handan, Hebei 056002, P.R. China.
Oncol Lett. 2014 Jul;8(1):133-138. doi: 10.3892/ol.2014.2114. Epub 2014 May 7.
It has been shown that death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) family and E-cadherin play significant roles in the promotion of apoptosis and the suppression of cell adhesion and migration, and are involved in tumor metastasis. Ezrin, a cytoplasmic peripheral membrane protein, has been shown to interact with E-cadherin to participate in the metastasis of tumor cells. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of DRP-1 (a member of the DAPK family), ezrin and E-cadherin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and to analyze their association with clinicopathological factors in order to explore their potential in ESCC diagnosis. The expression of these genes was studied in tissue microarrays using hybridization and immunohistochemistry methods in 76 specimens of ESCC and their paracancerous normal squamous epithelium tissues. Expression was statistically analyzed with regard to clinicopathological factors using χ and non-parametric tests. The expression level of DRP-1 was significantly different between the ESCC and paracancerous tissues (P<0.05). The expression level was correlated with the depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Abnormal E-cadherin expression was found to be associated with a high degree of cancer differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). A positive correlation was observed between the expression of DRP-1 and E-cadherin (P<0.05). The expression of ezrin was found to be correlated with the depth of ESCC invasion, the degree of differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The high expression of ezrin has been previously shown to be correlated with the low or absent expression of E-cadherin. In conclusion, in ESCC, the expression levels of DRP-1, ezrin and E-cadherin were all reduced, and this reduction or absence of expression may have been attributed to ESCC tumorigenesis and progression. Simultaneous analyses of DRP-1, ezrin and E-cadherin expression levels would be useful to determine the malignancy and metastatic potential of ESCC, and these genes are consequently of potential use as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis assessment of early-stage ESCC.
研究表明，死亡相关蛋白激酶（DAPK）家族和E-钙黏蛋白在促进细胞凋亡、抑制细胞黏附和迁移中发挥重要作用，并参与肿瘤转移。埃兹蛋白是一种细胞质外周膜蛋白，已被证明可与E-钙黏蛋白相互作用，参与肿瘤细胞的转移。本研究旨在探讨DRP-1（DAPK家族成员）、埃兹蛋白和E-钙黏蛋白在食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）中的表达，并分析它们与临床病理因素的关系，以探索它们在ESCC诊断中的潜力。采用杂交和免疫组化方法，在76例ESCC组织芯片及其癌旁正常鳞状上皮组织中研究这些基因的表达。使用χ检验和非参数检验对临床病理因素的表达进行统计学分析。ESCC组织和癌旁组织中DRP-1的表达水平有显著差异（P<0.05）。表达水平与浸润深度和淋巴结转移相关（P<0.05）。发现E-钙黏蛋白异常表达与高分化癌和淋巴结转移相关（P<0.05）。DRP-1和E-钙黏蛋白的表达之间存在正相关（P<0.05）。发现埃兹蛋白的表达与ESCC浸润深度、分化程度和淋巴结转移相关（P<0.05）。先前已表明埃兹蛋白的高表达与E-钙黏蛋白的低表达或无表达相关。总之，在ESCC中，DRP-1、埃兹蛋白和E-钙黏蛋白的表达水平均降低，这种表达的降低或缺失可能归因于ESCC的发生和进展。同时分析DRP-1、埃兹蛋白和E-钙黏蛋白的表达水平将有助于确定ESCC的恶性程度和转移潜能，因此这些基因有潜力作为早期ESCC诊断和预后评估的生物标志物。
