Gofuku J, Shiozaki H, Tsujinaka T, Inoue M, Tamura S, Doki Y, Matsui S, Tsukita S, Kikkawa N, Monden M
Department of Surgery II, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
Am J Clin Pathol. 1999 Jan;111(1):29-37. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/111.1.29.
Cadherins form complexes with groups of cytoplasmic proteins, such as alpha-, beta-, and gamma-catenins, that link the cadherin molecule to the cytoskeleton. In this study, we conducted an immunohistochemical investigation of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin expression in 100 tissue samples obtained from colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgical treatment. Reduced expression of alpha-catenin was observed in 56 (56%) of the cases and found to be significantly correlated with the depth of invasion of the patients' colorectal cancer and its metastasis to lymph nodes and liver. In contrast, E-cadherin expression was reduced in 29 (29%) of the cases and was not significantly correlated with either depth of invasion or metastasis. Although the levels of expression of these proteins were positively correlated, coexpression pattern analysis showed that invasion and metastasis were correlated with a reduction of alpha-catenin expression regardless of the status of E-cadherin staining. Thus, to predict tumor invasion and metastasis in colorectal adenocarcinoma, it is useful to investigate not just the expression of E-cadherin but also the expression of alpha-catenin.
钙黏蛋白与一组细胞质蛋白形成复合物，如α-、β-和γ-连环蛋白，这些蛋白将钙黏蛋白分子与细胞骨架相连。在本研究中，我们对100例接受手术治疗的结直肠癌患者的组织样本进行了E-钙黏蛋白和α-连环蛋白表达的免疫组织化学研究。在56例（56%）病例中观察到α-连环蛋白表达降低，并且发现其与患者结直肠癌的浸润深度及其向淋巴结和肝脏的转移显著相关。相比之下，29例（29%）病例中E-钙黏蛋白表达降低，且与浸润深度或转移均无显著相关性。尽管这些蛋白的表达水平呈正相关，但共表达模式分析表明，无论E-钙黏蛋白染色状态如何，浸润和转移都与α-连环蛋白表达降低相关。因此，为预测结直肠腺癌的肿瘤浸润和转移，不仅研究E-钙黏蛋白的表达，而且研究α-连环蛋白的表达是有用的。
