Osakabe Mitsumasa, Fukagawa Daisuke, Sato Chie, Sugimoto Ryo, Uesugi Noriyuki, Ishida Kazuyuki, Itamochi Hiroaki, Sugiyama Toru, Sugai Tamotsu
Department of Molecular Diagnostic Pathology, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan.
Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2019 Feb;29(2):277-281. doi: 10.1136/ijgc-2018-000038. Epub 2019 Jan 13.
Uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) is a highly aggressive neoplasm that is composed of an intricate admixture of carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. The relationship between UCS and the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been reported. In this study, we examined how expression of E-cadherin was associated with the expression of EMT-related proteins in UCS.
UCS samples were histologically divided into three components: carcinomatous, transitional, and sarcomatous regions. Next, we examined the expression of E-cadherin and EMT-related proteins, including SNAI2, ZEB1, and TWIST1, in each component of the UCS using immunohistochemistry. The expression score was determined by combining the staining intensity and staining area of the target cells.
The expression score of E-cadherin was significantly lower in transitional and sarcomatous components than in the carcinomatous component. In addition, a significant difference in the low expression score of E-cadherin between transitional and sarcomatous components (transitional > sarcomatous components) was found. There were significant differences between the expression scores of ZEB1 in the three components (sarcomatous > transitional > carcinomatous components). However, no difference in the expression of TWIST1 between the components was found. Conversely, the expression level of SNAI2 was higher in sarcomatous or transitional components than in the carcinomatous component. However, a significant difference between the transitional and sarcomatous components was not detected.
These results suggest that the EMT plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of UCS.
子宫癌肉瘤（UCS）是一种侵袭性很强的肿瘤，由癌性和肉瘤性成分复杂混合而成。UCS与上皮-间质转化（EMT）之间的关系已有报道。在本研究中，我们研究了E-钙黏蛋白的表达与UCS中EMT相关蛋白表达之间的关联。
将UCS样本在组织学上分为三个部分：癌性、过渡性和肉瘤性区域。接下来，我们使用免疫组织化学检测UCS各部分中E-钙黏蛋白和EMT相关蛋白（包括SNAI2、ZEB1和TWIST1）的表达。通过结合靶细胞的染色强度和染色面积来确定表达评分。
E-钙黏蛋白的表达评分在过渡性和肉瘤性成分中显著低于癌性成分。此外，还发现过渡性和肉瘤性成分之间E-钙黏蛋白低表达评分存在显著差异（过渡性>肉瘤性成分）。ZEB1在三个成分中的表达评分存在显著差异（肉瘤性>过渡性>癌性成分）。然而，各成分之间TWIST1的表达没有差异。相反，SNAI2在肉瘤性或过渡性成分中的表达水平高于癌性成分。但是，未检测到过渡性和肉瘤性成分之间的显著差异。
这些结果表明EMT在UCS的发病机制中起重要作用。
