title: Enhanced PPAR-gamma expression may correlate with the development of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
abstract: PPAR-gamma is known to have a growth-suppressive effect in different cancers. In this study, we investigated the role of PPAR-gamma in the development of Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA). We used immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR to analyze differences in PPAR-gamma protein and mRNA expression levels in samples of normal esophageal squamous epithelium (n = 75), BE (n = 50), and EA (n = 25). Immunoreactivity with antibodies against PPAR-gamma was confined to the nuclei of goblet cells and surface glandular epithelium in BE samples. We found significantly lower levels of expression of PPAR-gamma protein (p < 0.01) in normal esophageal squamous epithelium when compared to BE and EA samples. PPAR-gamma protein levels showed an increasing trend from normal esophageal squamous epithelium < BE samples < EA samples (p < 0.01). PPAR-gamma mRNA expression levels in BE and EA samples were 5.9130-fold (p < 0.01) and 2.0314-fold (p < 0.01) higher than that of normal esophageal squamous epithelium, respectively. There was a trend towards increased expression of PPAR-gamma with decreasing levels of differentiation. Increased PPAR-gamma expression may play an important role in the development and progression from normal cells to BE and EA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Command, Fuzhou, China. wangw68@medmail.com.cn
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhijian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dazhou
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yinghao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yut
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D047495:PPAR gamma; D012333:RNA, Messenger