Co-expression of galectin-3 and CRIP-1 in endometrial cancer: prognostic value and patient survival

Abstract

Endometrial cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women. Galectin-3 (GAL-3) and CRIP-1 are multifunctional proteins which seem to be involved in many neoplasias. This study aims to point out correlations between clinicopathological findings and endometrial cancer patient survival to GAL-3 and CRIP-1 expression in order to enfold their diagnostic/prognostic potential. Tissues from 46 patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer were studied by immunohistochemistry, using monoclonal antibodies for GAL-3 and CRIP-1, and expression levels were correlated with clinicopathological findings and survival. Analysis was performed at single protein level or as co-expression. High expression of GAL-3 and CRIP-1 was independently associated with tumor depth and histological grade, respectively. Also, there was a significant correlation between high co-expression of the two proteins and the histological grade (aOR 2.66), the tumor depth (aOR 0.32) and the histological type (aOR 1.32), but not with the patients' age. Moreover, high expression of both proteins was observed in patients with shorter survival times. Interestingly, the co-expression of the two proteins exhibited some degree of monotony (Spearman's ρ = 0.768), indicating a common molecular pathway. This study provides evidence for a prognostic clinical potential of the combined study of GAL-3 and CRIP-1 in endometrial cancer. These factors are poorly studied in endometrium, and their role in the carcinogenetic process and on effective therapy awaits further elucidation.

The Impact of Cysteine-Rich Intestinal Protein 1 (CRIP1) on Thyroid Carcinoma

“…A few studies suggest that CRIP1 functions as an oncogene. Lambropoulou et al showed that higher expression of CRIP1 is associated with shorter survival times in endometrial cancer [22]. Our data supports the oncogenic role of CRIP1.…”

“…Several studies have indicated that CRIP1 is involved in few types of cancers, including osteosarcoma [19], breast cancer [20], endometrial cancer, [22] and prostate cancer [17]. However, the role of CRIP1 is not conclusively reported in these cancers.…”

“…CRIP1 may be involved in intestinal zinc transport [10, 13-15], and is observed to be overexpressed in various types of tumors [16-22] including breast cancer [20, 21], osteosarcoma [19], prostate cancer [17], pancreatic cancer [16], and colorectal cancer [23]. Numerous studies have indicated that CRIP1 is an important transcriptional regulation factor during tumor development.…”

DNA methylation and histone modifications as epigenetic regulation in prostate cancer

“…Cysteine-rich intestinal protein 1 (CRIP1) belongs to the LIM/double-zinc finger protein family and has been shown to be overexpressed in several tumor types, including breast, endometrial and prostate (45,49,50).…”

Galectin‑7 is elevated in endometrioid (type I) endometrial cancer and promotes cell migration

“…Furthermore, the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions exhibited by galectins and their high affinity for specific oligosaccharides make galectins promising markers and/or therapeutic targets for cancer (8). The expression and function of galectins in EC prognosis and progression have not been well investigated to date, although galectin-3 production in epithelial cancer cells is significantly associated with poor prognosis and reduced survival rates 5 years after diagnosis (9). Galectin-7 is a 15 kDa prototype galectin expressed specifically by stratified epithelial cells (8).…”