MUC gene expression and histogenesis of adenocarcinoma of the stomach.
To elucidate the histogenesis of adenocarcinomas of the stomach, we examined MUC gene expression in gland-forming intramucosal neoplastic lesions. Eighty tumors were histopathologically assigned to 1 of the following 3 groups based upon the Vienna classification: group A (low-grade adenoma/dysplasia), group B (high-grade adenoma/dysplasia) and group C (intramucosal carcinoma). Immunohistochemic staining was performed with monoclonal antibodies against MUC2 (goblet cell mucin), MUC5AC (gastric-foveolar mucin), MUC6 (pyloric-gland mucin) and CD10 (brush border). Ki-67 staining was also carried out. An obvious difference existed in MUC gene expression between lesions in group A and those in groups B and C. The majority of group A lesions strongly expressed intestinal markers in which proliferating cell zones were formed but generally expressed no gastric markers, whereas more than 50% of groups B and C tumors expressed gastric markers. These findings suggest that group A lesions are of a stable intestinal phenotype, whereas those in groups B and C are phenotypically and genotypically unstable, indicating that the adenoma-carcinoma sequence is not a major pathway, but instead that adenocarcinomas arise de novo.
Tsukashita
S
S
Department of Pathology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan.
Kushima
R
R
Bamba
M
M
Sugihara
H
H
Hattori
T
T
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D055271:Mucin 5AC; D055272:Mucin-6; D009077:Mucins / Q000235:genetics*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*
C524678:MUC5AC protein, human; C524734:MUC6 protein, human; D055271:Mucin 5AC; D055272:Mucin-6; D009077:Mucins