title: CD133: a potential indicator for differentiation and prognosis of human cholangiocarcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  CD133 is known to be a cancer stem cell (CSC) marker. However, recent studies have revealed that CD133 is not restricted to CSC but to be expressed not only in human normal tissues but also in some cancers and could serve as a prognostic factor for the patients. Nevertheless, the expression of CD133 in human cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is rare and our study is to detect the expression and explore the potential functions of CD133 in human CC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-nine cases, comprised of 5 normal liver tissues and 54 consecutive CC specimens (21 well-differentiated, 12 moderately-differentiated and 21 poorly-differentiated), were included in the study. Immunohistochemical stainning with CD133 protein was carried out, and statistical analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CD133 was found to express in all 5 normal livers and 40 out of 54 (74%) CC tissues with different subcellular localization. In the well, moderately and poorly differentiated cases, the numbers of CD133 positive cases were 19 (19 of 21, 90%), 10 (10 of 12, 83%) and 11 (11 of 21, 52%) respectively. Further statistical analyses indicated that the expression and different subcellular localization of CD133 were significantly correlated with the differentiation status of tumors (P = 0.004, P = 0.009). Among 23 patients followed up for survival, the median survival was 4 months for fourteen CD133 negative patients but 14 months for nine CD133 positive ones. In univariate survival analysis, CD133 negative expression correlated with poor prognosis while CD133 positive expression predicted a favorable outcome of CC patients (P = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrates that CD133 expression correlates with the differentiation of CC and indicates that CD133 is a potential indicator for differentiation and prognosis of human CC.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Linni
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Furong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Hongxiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yixiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qingguo
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Gaosheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010455:Peptides; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models
chemical_list: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D015703:Antigens, CD; D006023:Glycoproteins; C000606023:PROM1 protein, human; D010455:Peptides