title: An early-screening biomarker of endometrial carcinoma: NGAL is associated with epithelio-mesenchymal transition.
abstract: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin is currently one of the most interesting and enigmatic proteins involved in the development of malignancies. In this study, we found that the expression of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin was up-regulated in endometrial cancer tissues and cell lines, significantly increased in early-grade ones, suggesting it may serve as a biomarker for early-stage screening for endometrial carcinoma. Moreover, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin was up-regulated in Ishikawa cells under going epithelio-mesenchymal transition induced by epidermal growth factor (5 ng/ml). Up-regulation of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin may correlate with the down-regulation of E-cadherin expression, up-regulation of Vimentin expression, enhanced cell migration, invasion and proliferation, which are the typical hallmarks of epithelio-mesenchymal transition processes. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin may play a dual role during tumorigenetic and developmental processes of endometrial carcinoma. These results suggested neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin to be a potential molecular target in the early diagnosis and treatment of endometrial carcinoma. Further studies are warranted to clarify the molecular mechanisms behind the expression and function of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and epithelio-mesenchymal transition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qinping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002465:Cell Movement; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000071068:Lipocalin-2 / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C489506:LCN2 protein, human; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor
keywords: endometrial cancer; epidermal growth Factor; epithelio-mesenchymal transition; neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin