Correlation between expression and differentiation of endocan in colorectal cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression frequency of endocan in colorectal cancer and analyze the relationship between endocan expression and clinical parameters and to study the role of endocan in colorectal carcinogenesis.


METHODS
Expression of endocan in 72 tumor tissue samples of colorectal cancer as well as in 27 normal mucous membrane tissue samples was analyzed using in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray, Western blot and reverse-transcript polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).


RESULTS
The expression of endocan was higher in normal colon and rectum tissue samples than in cancerous tissue samples (mRNA = 92.6%, protein = 36%), and was lower in colorectal cancer tissue samples (mRNA = 70.4%, protein = 36.1%). No correlation was found between staining intensity and clinical parameters such as sex, age, tumor size and TNM stage. However, the expression of endocan was positively correlated with the tissue differentiation in colorectal cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
The expression of endocan is down-regulated in colorectal cancer and is positively correlated with the tissue differentiation in colorectal cancer, suggesting that the expression of endocan is associated with development and differentiation of colorectal cancer.
Zuo
Li
L
Department of Biochemistry, Key Laboratory of Gene Resource Utilization for Severe Disease, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. wangyuan@ahmu.edu.cn
Zhang
Su-Mei
SM
Hu
Ruo-Lei
RL
Zhu
Hua-Qing
HQ
Zhou
Qing
Q
Gui
Shu-Yu
SY
Wu
Qiang
Q
Wang
Yuan
Y
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012007:Rectum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
C101134:ESM1 protein, human; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans; D012333:RNA, Messenger