Hassani Elham, Shekari Khaniani Mahmood, Saffari Mojtaba, Emami Razavi Amirnader, Shirkoohi Reza, Mansoori Derakhshan Sima
Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Cancer Biology Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Iran J Public Health. 2019 Sep;48(9):1723-1731.
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), is the fatal form of gynecological cancer. Almost 70% of ovarian cancer patients are detected at an advanced stage (III-IV) with metastases. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical process associated with metastasis. This study investigated the expression levels of AXL, GAS6, Claudin-1, and Cofilin-1, as genes involved in EMT in relation to clinicopathologic features in ovarian cancer patients.
In this descriptive study, 78 ovarian epithelial cancer patients were enrolled. Samples were provided by the Iran National Tumor Bank, founded by the Cancer Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The expression levels of AXL, GAS6, Claudin-1, and Cofilin-1 genes were investigated in a fresh, frozen tumor sample and normal adjacent tissue by real-time PCR (RT-PCR).
Findings showed a significant relationship between the overexpression of AXL and TNM staging (=0.03). The expression level of GAS6 decreased in more advanced stages (=0.01). There is a negative relationship between Cofilin-1 expression level and TNM staging (=0.002). Claudin-1 expression level was higher in low stages compared with that in high stages (=0.01). There was no relationship between gene expression levels of target genes with size and grade of the tumor.
Given the importance of these genes in EMT, alteration in their expression pattern can contribute to the progression of the disease and distant metastasis of cancer cells. Additionally, knowing the alteration pattern of these genes expression can help to better understanding and prediction of the prognosis of EOC.
上皮性卵巢癌（EOC）是妇科癌症中致命的一种形式。几乎70%的卵巢癌患者在晚期（III - IV期）伴有转移时被检测出。上皮 - 间质转化（EMT）是一个与转移相关的关键过程。本研究调查了AXL、GAS6、Claudin - 1和Cofilin - 1作为参与EMT的基因的表达水平，及其与卵巢癌患者临床病理特征的关系。
在这项描述性研究中，纳入了78例卵巢上皮癌患者。样本由伊朗国家肿瘤库提供，该肿瘤库由德黑兰医科大学癌症研究所在2017年建立。通过实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应（RT - PCR）在新鲜的、冷冻的肿瘤样本和相邻正常组织中研究AXL、GAS6、Claudin - 1和Cofilin - 1基因的表达水平。
研究结果显示AXL的过表达与TNM分期之间存在显著关系（=0.03）。在更晚期阶段，GAS6的表达水平降低（=0.01）。Cofilin - 1表达水平与TNM分期之间存在负相关关系（=0.002）。与高分期相比，Claudin - 1表达水平在低分期更高（=0.01）。目标基因的表达水平与肿瘤大小和分级之间没有关系。
鉴于这些基因在EMT中的重要性，其表达模式的改变可能有助于疾病进展和癌细胞的远处转移。此外，了解这些基因表达的改变模式有助于更好地理解和预测EOC的预后。
