Fujian Cancer Hospital, Department of Pathology, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
Fujian Cancer Hospital, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 Oct;306(4):1185-1195. doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06433-3. Epub 2022 Mar 6.
Apelin has been shown to be a novel angiogenic factor in various cancers. However, there is limited information regarding the role of apelin in breast cancer. The aim of the present study is to examine associations between apelin, clinicopathological variables, and clinical outcome in breast cancer patients.
In this study, we began by investigating the apelin expression in breast cancer with long-term follow-up using immunohistochemistry. We then analyzed the relationship between apelin expression and microvessel density (MVD), lymphatic vessel density (LVD), lymph node status as well as other established clinicopathological parameters. The relationship between apelin expression and prognosis was also studied. In addition, we compared the apelin and its ligant APJ expression between 30 breast cancer samples and normal breast tissues adjacent to the breast tumors using western blot (WB) and RT-PCR.
Apelin protein expression was detected in the cytoplasm of the breast carcinoma cells at various intensities. Apelin expression was positive in 59.2% (84/142) of the breast cancer patients and apelin expression was significantly correlated with tumor size (p = 0.030), stage (p = 0.000), histological type (p = 0.009), MVD (p = 0.000), LVD (p = 0.000), and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.041). Survival curves determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and univariate analysis demonstrated that high expression of apelin was associated with both worse disease-free survival (p < 0.001) and overall survival (p < 0.001). Interestingly, a significant difference in apelin and APJ expression by WB as well as RT-PCR was observed between normal breast tissues adjacent to the breast tumors and breast cancer tissues.
Our results showed apelin expression was associated with tumor size, stage, histological type, MVD, LVD, lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. The presence of apelin may be a new prognostic factor and potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.
Apelin 已被证明是各种癌症中的一种新型血管生成因子。然而，关于 Apelin 在乳腺癌中的作用的信息有限。本研究的目的是研究 Apelin 与乳腺癌患者的临床病理变量和临床结果之间的关系。
在这项研究中，我们首先使用免疫组织化学法研究了具有长期随访的乳腺癌中的 Apelin 表达。然后，我们分析了 Apelin 表达与微血管密度（MVD）、淋巴管密度（LVD）、淋巴结状态以及其他已建立的临床病理参数之间的关系。还研究了 Apelin 表达与预后的关系。此外，我们使用 Western blot（WB）和 RT-PCR 比较了 30 例乳腺癌样本和肿瘤旁正常乳腺组织中的 Apelin 及其配体 APJ 的表达。
在不同强度下检测到乳腺癌细胞的细胞质中 Apelin 蛋白表达。在 142 例乳腺癌患者中，59.2%（84/142）的患者 Apelin 表达阳性，Apelin 表达与肿瘤大小（p=0.030）、分期（p=0.000）、组织学类型（p=0.009）、MVD（p=0.000）、LVD（p=0.000）和淋巴结转移（p=0.041）显著相关。Kaplan-Meier 方法和单因素分析确定的生存曲线表明，Apelin 高表达与无病生存率（p<0.001）和总生存率（p<0.001）均较差相关。有趣的是，WB 和 RT-PCR 观察到肿瘤旁正常乳腺组织和乳腺癌组织中 Apelin 和 APJ 表达存在显著差异。
我们的结果表明，Apelin 表达与肿瘤大小、分期、组织学类型、MVD、LVD、淋巴结转移和预后不良有关。Apelin 的存在可能是乳腺癌的一个新的预后因素和潜在的治疗靶点。
