Recently, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated that lung cancer is a stem cell disease. However, ideal cell surface markers for isolating stem cells in lung cancer are yet to be identified. In the present study, a cell population with a cluster of differentiation (CD)133+ phenotype was successfully isolated from a single cell suspension of lung adenocarcinoma tissue using magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) and enriched in a serum-free culture. In comparison to CD133− cells, the CD133+ cells exhibited an enhanced capacity for self-renewal and differentiation, and a greater potential for in vivo tumor formation, in non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice. Tumors could be induced in NOD/SCID mice by the transplantation of 102 stem-like cells per mouse. The results of the present study demonstrated that CD133 may serve as a specific cell surface marker for lung adenocarcinoma stem cells, and that MACS combined with serum-free culture is an effective method for isolating and enriching lung cancer stem cells.
The Trop-2 gene has been examined in various carcinomas and is reported to be significantly associated with prognosis. Little is known with regard to Trop-2 gene expression in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The present study investigated the expression of Trop-2 and its association with the prognosis of advanced NSCLC. The clinical records of 87 patients with advanced NSCLC, consisting of 37 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 50 cases of adenocarcinoma (AdC), together with 17 tumor-adjacent normal tissues, were retrospectively evaluated. Trop-2 expression was measured using an immunohistochemical method and its association with clinicopathological data and prognosis was also evaluated. The expression of Trop-2 was significantly higher in the cancer tissues compared with the tumor-adjacent normal tissues, and significantly higher in SCC compared with AdC (P=0.018). In SCC, the overexpression of Trop-2 was only correlated with the histological grade of the tumor (P= 0.035) and no correlation was observed with gender, age, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS). In AdC, the over-expression of Trop-2 was correlated with the histological grade, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P= 0.01, 0.024 and 0.015, respectively), while no correlation with gender, age or ECOG-PS was observed. The survival frequency was significantly higher in the Trop-2-negative patients compared with the Trop-2-positive patients [17.25 months (95% CI, 14.922–19.577) vs. 13.274 months (95% CI, 11.507–15.041); P= 0.008]. The survival time was significantly longer in the Trop-2-negative AdC patients [17.275 months (95% CI, 14.575–19.975) vs. 11.469 months (95% CI, 11.507–15.041); P= 0.002], but not in the SCC patients [17.167 months (95% CI, 12.428–21.906) vs. 14.647 months (95% CI, 12.062–17.232); P= 0.276]. The multivariate analysis revealed that Trop-2 expression [hazard ratio (HR) 2.381; P= 0.038], TNM stage (HR, 2.193; P= 0.03) and ECOG-PS (HR, 2.696; P= 0.007) were independent predictors for the survival outcome of patients with AdC. These results suggest that Trop-2 overexpression is closely correlated with an unfavorable prognosis in advanced NSCLC. Trop-2 is an independent prognostic marker and a potential new therapeutic target in advanced AdC.
Glioma is the most common type of primary brain tumor in the CNS. Due to its poor prognosis and high mortality rates, it is urgent to find out more effective therapies. Plakophilin-2 (PKP2) is a widespread desmosomal plaque protein. Recently, the important roles of PKP2 in the proliferation and migration of cancer cells and tumor progression has been shown. However, the expression and potential function of PKP2 in glioma was still unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that PKP2 protein expression level was increased in glioma tissues compared with normal brain tissues, and its level was significantly associated with the Ki-67 expression and WHO grade by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Clinically, high PKP2 expression was tightly related to poor prognosis of glioma patients. Interestingly, we found that down-regulated PKP2 expression was shown to inhibit the migration of cells in glioma. Moreover, cell counting kit (CCK)-8 and colony formation analyses proved that reduced expression of PKP2 could weaken glioma cell proliferation. Taken together, these data uncover a potential role for PKP2 in the pathogenic process of glioma, suggesting that PKP2 may be a promising therapeutic target of glioma.
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