title: Expression of tropomyosins in lung cancer - a potential role in carcinogenesis and its utility in a histopathological diagnosis.
abstract: We herein analyzed the relationships between tropomyosin protein expression levels and clinicopathological factors in order to determine the significance of tropomyosins in lung cancers. Although neoplastic cells expressed different isoforms of tropomyosin, overall expression levels were lower than those in bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells. In adenocarcinomas, tropomyosin levels were markedly reduced in poorly differentiated or solid subtype carcinomas, suggesting that a loss in the expression of tropomyosins is involved in the progression of lung adenocarcinomas. The potential utility of the immunohistochemical expression of tropomyosins for a histopathological diagnosis was also investigated. The sensitivity and specificity of a loss in the expression of tropomyosins were 100% and 50%, respectively, which were superior to those for the strong expression of p53 (sensitivity 100% and specificity 44%), a conventional biomarker. An immunohistochemical examination of tropomyosins may assist in the histopathological detection of lung cancer cells in small biopsy specimens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan. kojixok@yokohama-cu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okudela
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mitsui
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsukan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.affiliation: Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Kanagawa Prefectural Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center Hospital, Tomioka-higashi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takehisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeaki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Umeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Kanagawa Prefectural Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center Hospital, Tomioka-higashi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Michihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tajiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Munetaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.affiliation: Division of Pathology, Kanagawa Prefectural Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center Hospital, Tomioka-higashi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kameda
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Future, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohashi
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014335:Tropomyosin / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014335:Tropomyosin