Okusa Y, Shinomiya N, Ichikura T, Mochizuki H
Department of Surgery I, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.
Oncology. 1998 May-Jun;55(3):258-64. doi: 10.1159/000011860.
Telomerase has been reported to be activated in most immortal cells and human cancers. In the present study, we assessed the correlation between telomerase activity and cellular DNA ploidy level in gastric cancer. Telomerase activity was determined semiquantitatively using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay, a polymerase-chain-reaction-based assay, in surgical specimens of primary tumors obtained from 36 patients with gastric cancer. No correlation was observed between telomerase activity and the proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index. In contrast, a positive linear correlation was observed between telomerase activity and the DNA index (r = 0.59; p < 0.01). Tumor cells with aneuploid patterns showed higher telomerase activity than those with diploid patterns (27.6+/-5.8 vs. 5.8+/-1.1%; p < 0.01). Telomerase activity of tumors with liver metastases was significantly higher than activity of those without metastases (34.5+/-16.6 vs. 11.8+/-2.4; p < 0.05). There was a trend toward a lower survival rate in 9 patients with a telomerase activity of 20% or higher compared to 27 patients with telomerase activity lower than 20%. These results suggest that the telomerase activity of gastric cancer tissue may reflect the malignant potential of the tumor.
据报道，端粒酶在大多数永生化细胞和人类癌症中被激活。在本研究中，我们评估了胃癌中端粒酶活性与细胞DNA倍体水平之间的相关性。使用端粒重复序列扩增法（一种基于聚合酶链反应的检测方法）对36例胃癌患者原发肿瘤手术标本中的端粒酶活性进行半定量测定。未观察到端粒酶活性与增殖细胞核抗原标记指数之间存在相关性。相反，端粒酶活性与DNA指数之间观察到正线性相关（r = 0.59；p < 0.01）。非整倍体模式的肿瘤细胞比二倍体模式的肿瘤细胞显示出更高的端粒酶活性（27.6±5.8对5.8±1.1%；p < 0.01）。有肝转移的肿瘤的端粒酶活性显著高于无转移的肿瘤（34.5±16.6对11.8±2.4；p < 0.05）。与27例端粒酶活性低于20%的患者相比，9例端粒酶活性为20%或更高的患者的生存率有降低的趋势。这些结果表明，胃癌组织的端粒酶活性可能反映肿瘤的恶性潜能。
