Correlation of TWIST2 up-regulation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition during tumorigenesis and progression of cervical carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
Globally, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women, and determining potential targets involved in tumor progression is necessary. This study investigated the clinic-pathological significance of twist homolog 2 (TWIST2), a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, and correlated TWIST2 and E-cadherin expression in cervical cancer.


METHODS
A series of 142 samples, including 14 cases of normal cervical tissues, 58 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 70 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), were examined TWIST2 and E-cadherin immunohistochemical staining and statistical analysis.


RESULTS
Increased cytoplasmic and nuclear expression levels of TWIST2 were associated with the malignant transformation of cervical epithelium and the histological progression of cervical cancer. A logistic test showed that TWIST2 was a relatively independent predictor of lymph node metastasis of SCC. Further, increased levels of TWIST2 were also associated with aberrant expression of E-cadherin, an important EMT indicator.


CONCLUSIONS
The present data suggest that TWIST2 overexpression was significantly linked to cervical cancer progression, which makes it a promising marker for determining the metastatic potential of cervical cancer, and up-regulation of TWIST2, in combination with aberrant E-cadherin expression in primary cervical cancer tissues, may predict the malignant transformation and distal metastasis of carcinomas.
Cancer Biology Research Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China.
Yan
Y
Li
Wei
W
Wang
Wenwen
W
Wang
Runfeng
R
Yang
Tian
T
Wang
Tiefen
T
Su
Danhui
D
Weng
Tao
T
Tao
Wei
W
Li
Ding
D
Ma
Shixuan
S
Wang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015820:Cadherins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D018450:Disease Progression; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D015854:Up-Regulation; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
D015820:Cadherins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C486274:TWIST2 protein, human; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1