Yu Zhaojin, Sun Mingli, Jin Feng, Xiao Qinghuan, He Miao, Wu Huizhe, Ren Jie, Zhao Lin, Zhao Haishan, Yao Weifan, Shan Fengping, Cao Yaming, Wei Minjie
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110122, P.R. China.
Department of Breast Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, P.R. China.
Oncol Rep. 2015 Jul;34(1):165-74. doi: 10.3892/or.2015.3967. Epub 2015 May 8.
Ezrin and E-cadherin have been known to play a role in tumor metastasis. However, the association between the expression of ezrin and E-cadherin in breast cancer patients remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the expression of ezrin and E-cadherin in 275 breast cancer and 80 control patients with benign hyperplasia, using tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry (IHC). Ezrin expression was higher, while that of E-cadherin was lower in breast cancer than in control samples. Ezrin expression was negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression in a subpopulation of breast cancer patients with a high expression of ezrin [ezrin(high)] and a low expression of E-cadherin [E-cad(low)]. The cytoplasmic expression of E-cadherin [E-cad(c)] occurred significantly more frequently in ezrin(high) breast cancer than in ezrin(low) breast cancer. The expression level of ezrin was significantly higher in breast cancer with E-cad(c) than that with a membrane expression of E-cadherin [E-cad(m)]. Ezrin(high) or E-cad(low) expression was more associated with lymph node metastasis, and shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in breast cancer patients. E-cad(c) was more associated with lymph node metastasis and shorter OS and DFS compared with E-cad(m). The combined expression of ezrin(high) and E-cad(low) or ezrin(high) and ezrin(c) was more associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. In addition, the multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis and ezrin(high) expression were independent prognostic factors for shorter OS and DFS in breast cancer patients. The results of the present study suggested that ezrin promotes breast cancer metastasis via the regulation of E-cadherin expression.
已知埃兹蛋白（ezrin）和E-钙黏蛋白（E-cadherin）在肿瘤转移中发挥作用。然而，乳腺癌患者中埃兹蛋白和E-钙黏蛋白表达之间的关联仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们使用基于组织芯片的免疫组织化学（IHC）方法，调查了275例乳腺癌患者和80例良性增生对照患者中埃兹蛋白和E-钙黏蛋白的表达情况。乳腺癌中埃兹蛋白的表达高于对照样本，而E-钙黏蛋白的表达低于对照样本。在埃兹蛋白高表达[ezrin(high)]且E-钙黏蛋白低表达[E-cad(low)]的乳腺癌亚组患者中，埃兹蛋白表达与E-钙黏蛋白表达呈负相关。与埃兹蛋白低表达的乳腺癌相比，E-钙黏蛋白的细胞质表达[E-cad(c)]在埃兹蛋白高表达的乳腺癌中出现的频率明显更高。与E-钙黏蛋白膜表达[E-cad(m)]的乳腺癌相比，E-cad(c)的乳腺癌中埃兹蛋白的表达水平明显更高。埃兹蛋白高表达（ezrin(high)）或E-钙黏蛋白低表达（E-cad(low)）与乳腺癌患者的淋巴结转移、较短的总生存期（OS）和无病生存期（DFS）更相关。与E-cad(m)相比，E-cad(c)与淋巴结转移以及较短的OS和DFS更相关。埃兹蛋白高表达（ezrin(high)）与E-钙黏蛋白低表达（E-cad(low)）或埃兹蛋白高表达（ezrin(high)）与E-cad(c)的联合表达与淋巴结转移和不良预后更相关。此外，多变量Cox回归分析显示，淋巴结转移和埃兹蛋白高表达（ezrin(high)）是乳腺癌患者较短OS和DFS的独立预后因素。本研究结果表明，埃兹蛋白通过调节E-钙黏蛋白的表达促进乳腺癌转移。
