title: Lgr5-positive cells in the lung and their clinical significance in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) is well-characterized as a marker of intestinal stem cells and certain types of tumor stem cells, where positive cells may develop into intestinal epithelial cells or intestinal adenomas. However, the roles of Lgr5 in the lung and in lung tumors remain unclear. An immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was performed to detect the expression of Lgr5 in the lung from a normal mouse. Histopathological sections of the lungs from Lgr5 heterozygous knockout mice (Lgr5+/-) were observed following with hematoxylin and eosin. Furthermore, tissue microarrays containing tumor cores from lung cancer patients were also analyzed by IHC. Lgr5-positive cells were present in the pulmonary alveoli and bronchi of normal mice, whereas the lungs of Lgr5+/-mice lost their normal morphological structure compared with the lungs of the normal mice. Lgr5 was expressed in lung adenocarcinoma, however, not in squamous carcinoma, and Lgr5 expression was positively associated with tumor, node, metastasis stage. Lgr5 is expressed in normal murine lung and is associated with TNM stage in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaohan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shixin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zeqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Suwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Danni
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kaiying
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiangchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Lgr5; TNM stage; lung cancer; transgenic mice