title: Livin and caspase-3 expression are negatively correlated in cervical squamous cell cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Overexpression in cancer cells of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins like livin appears to promote tumorigenesis by regulating expression of proteins involved in apoptosis signaling. Here, the authors investigated expression of livin and an apoptosis protein that is known to inhibit, caspase-3, in cervical squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Their expression was assessed for correlation with tumor invasiveness. Immunohistochemistry for livin and caspase-3 was used in 36 normal cervical tissues and in 98 samples of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. The percentage of cells expressing these proteins was compared between normal and cancer samples. Their expression rates in cancer samples were subsequently compared with one another and with the clinical and pathological characteristics of the samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Livin was more commonly expressed in tumor samples than in normal tissues, while the opposite pattern was observed for caspase-3. Expression of livin was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage, higher pathological grade, and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05). Expression of caspase-3 was significantly associated with lower clinical stage, lower pathological grade, and lack of lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05). Finally, expression of livin was negatively correlated to caspase-3 expression in cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissue (r = -0.57, p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Livin may inhibit apoptosis in cervical squamous cell carcinoma by downregulating caspase-3, thereby promoting disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First People's Hospital of Yancheng City, Yancheng, P. R. China. xuming1976@126.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; C419866:BIRC7 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3