Increase of nuclear expression of metallothionein I/II in neoplastic transformation of the endomnetrium.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to investigate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), metallothionein (MT) 1/11, and Ki-67 antigen in endometrial cancer We analyzed cytoplasmic (cMT) and nuclear (nMT) metallothionein fractions separately Moreover we evaluated the relationships between expressions of the above mentioned proteins and compared them with clinicopathologic data.


METHODS
The study material included paraffin-embedded endometrial cancer samples from 84 patients. The control group consisted of 52 non-neoplastic endometrium samples. Immunohistochemical reactions were performed using monoclonal antibodies against EGFR, MT 1/11 and Ki-67. Expression intensity of the tested proteins was assessed by computer image analysis software. Chi-square, Spearman's correlation, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for statistical analysis with Statistica 8.0 PL.


RESULTS
Strong expression of nMT was revealed in endometrial cancer cells in relation to benign hyperplasia (p<0.0017) and normal cells (p<0.001) of the endometrium. Statistically significant but weaker expressions in analogous relationships were observed for cMT Moreover higher grade of histological malignancy G was positively associated with increased expression of nMT (p=0.009).


CONCLUSIONS
Expression of nMT remains in distinct correlation with neoplastic transformation of the endometrium and histologic grades. Our results clearly indicate a need for further research on metallothionein expression in tumor cells.
Lukasz
L
Jagielski
Michal
M
Jelen
Christopher
C
Kobierzycki
Gizela
G
Jagielska
Radoslaw
R
Blok
D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D008668:Metallothionein