Department of Gastroenterology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
Department of Gastroenterology, Wuxi People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214023, China.
J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2021 Feb 15;22(2):136-145. doi: 10.1631/jzus.B2000366.
To investigate the relationship between the fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) and colorectal cancer (CRC).
Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we measured the expression of FABP4 in plasma of 50 patients who underwent surgery for CRC from October 2017 to May 2018 and 50 healthy controls. The content of the visceral fat area (VFA) as seen with abdominal computed tomography (CT) scanning was measured by ImageJ software. The expression levels of FABP4, E-cadherin, and Snail proteins in CRC and adjacent tissues were determined by immunohistochemistry.
The mean concentration of plasma FABP4 of CRC patients was higher than that of the control group (22.46 vs. 9.82 ng/mL; <0.05). The concentration of plasma FABP4 was related to the tumor, node, metastatis (TNM) stage and lymph node metastasis and was independent of age, body mass index (BMI), tumor size and location, and the degree of differentiation of CRC. The concentration of plasma FABP4 was positively correlated with high VFA and lipoprotein-a (LPA) (<0.05); but it was not correlated with total cholesterol (TG), total triglyceride (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or apolipoprotein AI (Apo-AI). The expression of FABP4 protein in CRC tissues was positively correlated with the degree of CRC differentiation, tumor stage, and lymph node metastasis. The level of FABP4 protein was negatively correlated with E-cadherin protein (=-0.3292, =0.0196) and positively correlated with Snail protein (=0.5856, <0.0001).
High LPA and VFA were risk factors for increased plasma FABP4 in CRC patients. FABP4 protein was highly expressed in CRC tissues and associated with TNM stage, differentiation, and lymph node metastasis of CRC. The level of FABP4 in CRC tissue was correlated with E-cadherin and Snail expression, suggesting that FABP4 may promote CRC progression related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).
研究脂肪酸结合蛋白 4（FABP4）与结直肠癌（CRC）之间的关系。
采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测 2017 年 10 月至 2018 年 5 月期间 50 例接受 CRC 手术患者和 50 例健康对照者血浆中 FABP4 的表达。采用 ImageJ 软件测量腹部 CT 扫描的内脏脂肪区（VFA）含量。采用免疫组织化学法检测 CRC 及相邻组织中 FABP4、E-钙黏蛋白和 Snail 蛋白的表达水平。
CRC 患者血浆 FABP4 平均浓度高于对照组（22.46 比 9.82 ng/ml；<0.05）。血浆 FABP4 浓度与肿瘤、淋巴结、转移（TNM）分期和淋巴结转移有关，与年龄、体重指数（BMI）、肿瘤大小和位置以及 CRC 分化程度无关。血浆 FABP4 浓度与高 VFA 和脂蛋白-a（LPA）呈正相关（<0.05）；但与总胆固醇（TC）、总甘油三酯（TG）、低密度脂蛋白（LDL）、高密度脂蛋白（HDL）和载脂蛋白 AI（Apo-AI）无关。CRC 组织中 FABP4 蛋白的表达与 CRC 分化程度、肿瘤分期和淋巴结转移呈正相关。FABP4 蛋白水平与 E-钙黏蛋白蛋白呈负相关（=-0.3292，=0.0196），与 Snail 蛋白呈正相关（=0.5856，<0.0001）。
高 LPA 和 VFA 是 CRC 患者血浆 FABP4 升高的危险因素。FABP4 蛋白在 CRC 组织中高表达，与 CRC 的 TNM 分期、分化和淋巴结转移有关。CRC 组织中 FABP4 水平与 E-钙黏蛋白和 Snail 表达相关，提示 FABP4 可能通过上皮-间充质转化（EMT）促进 CRC 进展。
