title: Favorable prognosis of operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring an increased expression of tumor endothelial markers (TEMs).
abstract: Genome analyses of endothelial cells identified genes specifically expressed by tumor endothelial cells, called tumor endothelial markers (TEMs). Currently there are no data available concerning the role of TEMs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of TEMs in NSCLC in vitro and in vivo. First we evaluated the expression of various TEMs (Robo4, Clec14 and ECSCR) by qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses in three NSCLC cell lines (A549, Calu1, Colo699) and compared them to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) and human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEpCs). Next the expression of TEMs was measured in resected tumor tissue of NSCLC patients (n = 63) by qRT-PCR and compared to adjacent non-cancerous lung tissue (n = 52). Further, immunohistochemical analysis of Robo4 expression in tumor tissue (n = 33) and adjacent non-cancerous tissue (n = 27) was performed. We found that NSCLC cell lines and HBEpC did not express TEMs on the mRNA level compared to HUVECs (p = 0.001). In the contrary, a significant up-regulation of Robo4 and Clec14 was found in tumor samples (Robo4 p = 0.03, Clec14 p = 0.002). Both facts clearly indicate that these proteins are allocated to the tumor stromal department. Correlation with clinical data showed that increased TEM expression correlated with prolonged overall survival of operated NSCLC patients (Robo4 high 120.5 vs. Robo4 low 47.6 months, Clec14 high 108.1 vs. Clec14 low 54.5 months and ECSCR high 120.5 vs. ECSCR low 42.2 months). In summary, we found that TEMs are overexpressed in NSCLC stromal tissue and that an increased TEM expression correlated with an increased overall survival in early stage NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine V, Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. andreas.pircher@i-med.ac.at
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pircher
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiegl
authors.forename: Gerold
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Untergasser
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heidegger
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medinger
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hilbe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004727:Endothelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C462951:ROBO4 protein, human; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins
keywords: Angiogenesis; Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); Prognostic factor; Robo4; Tumor endothelial cells