钙黏蛋白E、桥粒芯糖蛋白2、磷酸化Akt和转录因子Snail在侵袭性前列腺癌中的作用

Role of E-cadherin, DSG2, pAKT, and Snail in aggressive prostate cancer

摘要:

目的  探讨钙黏蛋白E（E-cadherin）、桥粒芯糖蛋白（2DSG2）、磷酸化Akt（pAkt）和转录因子Snail在前列腺癌发病进程中的作用；阐明E-cadherin、DSG2、pAkt和Snail对前列腺癌发病进程的影响及在临床预后中的作用。方法  组织芯片法检测E-cadherin、DSG2、pAkt和Snail在前列腺癌组织中的表达情况。结果  前列腺癌组织中E-cadherin表达明显低于正常前列腺组织，细胞质和细胞核中均可观察到pAkt表达，且在肿瘤高分化区和低分化区内均有较高表达。E-cadherin和DSG2表达呈显著正相关。E-cadherin和DSG2表达下降提示前列腺癌患者血清前列腺特异性抗原（PSA）浓度含量增加，Gleason评分较高及病理分期更高。结论  前列腺癌低分化细胞中钙黏蛋白表达降低，钙黏蛋白低表达提示肿瘤细胞侵袭性更强，转移发生率高。钙黏蛋白在前列腺癌发展中发挥关键作用，E-cadherin和DSG2有望成为侵袭性前列腺癌的预后因子。

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the roles of E-cadherin, DSG2, pAKT, and Snail in the development of prostate cancer, and to explore the potential association between E-cadherin, DSG2, pAKT, and Snail and the progression of prostate cancer． Methods  The expression of E-cadherin, DSG2, pAKT and Snail in prostate cancer tissues was assessed by tissue microarrays. Results Compared with normal prostate, a significant decrease in the expression of E-cadherin was found in prostate cancer. The pAKT expression was detected in both cytoplasm and nucleus and was generally high in both well and poorly differentiated areas of the tumor. A strong and significant positive correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and DSG2 was found. Decreased expression of both E-cadherin and DSG2 was related to increased level of serum PSA concentration, higher Gleason scores and advanced pathological stage. Conclusions Tumor cells with reduced cadherin expression are more likely to be aggressive and have a greater potential for metastatic behavior. Cadherin plays a critical role in the progression of prostate cancer, and both E-cadherin and DSG2 may be useful prognostic markers of aggressive prostate cancer.