Zhao Yujie, Ou Qingjian, Deng Yuxiang, Peng Jianhong, Li Cong, Li Jibin, Zhao Qian, Qiu Miaozhen, Wan Desen, Fang Yujing, Pan Zhizhong
Department of Colorectal Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Department of Clinical Research, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Ann Transl Med. 2019 Nov;7(21):606. doi: 10.21037/atm.2019.09.20.
Follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) has been demonstrated to play a controversial role in cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of FSTL1 and its characteristics in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).
Gene expression microarray assays in 30 CRC patients and a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) of 22 patients were performed to compare the mRNA level of FSTL1 in tumor lesions and paired normal tissues. Also, 332 consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed CRC were selected to detect FSTL1 expression by using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was also applied to determine the serum level of FSTL1 in 60 CRC patients, as well as 34 healthy donors.
Gene expression microarray assays and RT-qPCR in CRC tissues, as well as ELISA in the serum all, revealed that the expression level of FSTL1 was higher in cancer tissue of CRC patients compared with paired normal tissue or healthy donors. The IHC results suggested that FSTL1 was also higher in tumor tissues than in its normal counterparts, however interestingly, a narrow scan focusing on the stromal region indicated that FSTL1 was significantly higher in normal tissues than in cancerous tissues. Besides, higher FSTL1 expression in cancer tissue, as well as lower FSTL1 expression in cancer stroma, both correlated with a worse prognosis, and the latter was an independent prognostic factor.
Our results provide novel insight into the role of FSTL1 in CRC, and it might be an essential factor in CRC development.
卵泡抑素样蛋白1（FSTL1）在癌症中发挥着有争议的作用。在本研究中，我们旨在调查FSTL1在结直肠癌（CRC）患者中的表达及其特征。
对30例CRC患者进行基因表达微阵列分析，并对22例患者进行实时定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR），以比较肿瘤病变组织和配对正常组织中FSTL1的mRNA水平。此外，选取332例经病理确诊的CRC患者，采用免疫组织化学（IHC）检测FSTL1表达。还应用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法测定60例CRC患者以及34名健康供者血清中FSTL1水平。
CRC组织中的基因表达微阵列分析和RT-qPCR以及血清中的ELISA均显示，与配对正常组织或健康供者相比，CRC患者癌组织中FSTL1表达水平更高。IHC结果表明，肿瘤组织中FSTL1也高于其正常对应组织，然而有趣的是，聚焦于基质区域的仔细观察表明，正常组织中FSTL1明显高于癌组织。此外，癌组织中FSTL1表达较高以及癌基质中FSTL1表达较低均与预后较差相关，且后者是一个独立的预后因素。
我们的结果为FSTL1在CRC中的作用提供了新的见解，它可能是CRC发生发展中的一个重要因素。
