Ezrin overexpression predicts the poor prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma

Abstract

BackgroundEzrin is a cytoskeletal protein that is involved in tumor growth and invasion. It has been suggested that Ezrin expression plays an important role in tumor metastasis. This study is aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of Ezrin overexpression in gastric adenocarcinomas.MethodsEzrin protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 26 normal gastric mucosa, 32 dysplasia, and 277 gastric adenocarcinomas. The relationship between Ezrin expression and the clinicopathological features of gastric cancers was analyzed. In addition, a gastric cancer cell line, MKN-1, was also used for immunofluorescence staining to evaluate the distribution of Ezrin protein.ResultsEzrin protein located in the cytoplasm and/or membrane in the migrating gastric cancer cells, and it mainly concentrated at the protrusion site; however, only cytoplasmic distribution was observed in the non-migrating cancer cells by immunofluorescence staining. The positive rate of Ezrin protein expression was significantly higher in gastric adenocarcinoma and dysplasia compared with that in the normal gastric mucosa. Moreover, expression frequency of Ezrin protein increased significantly in lymph node metastasis and late clinical stages. Consistently, strong expression of Ezrin was significantly correlated with poor prognosis of gastric cancer.ConclusionThe detection of Ezrin expression can be used as the marker for early diagnosis and prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma.Virtual SlidesThe virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2303598677653946

Promoter Methylation of Ezrin and its Impact on the Incidence and Prognosis of Cervical Cancer

“…Moreover, another study showed that promoter methylation of SFRPs gene family was correlated with the development of CC, which could be regarded as molecular biomarker for the screening of CC [23]. The Ezrin gene was up-regulated in many tumors such as pancreatic carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer and breast cancer, and the up-regulation of the Ezrin gene might enhance the metastatic phenotype of tumors [8,9]. Since the Ezrin gene takes part in cell migration and cell recognition through the immune system, it may exert an direct effect on tumor progression [24].…”

“…As the first member of the Ezrin-RadixinMoesin (ERM) family, Ezrin is up-regulated in many tumors including pancreatic carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer and breast cancer [8,9]. Ezrin is regarded as a scaffold protein which contributes to oncogenesis by linking cytoskeletal and membrane proteins [10].…”

Sineoculis homeobox homolog 1 protein overexpression as an independent biomarker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

“…After washing with PBS, the cells were counterstained with 49-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (C1006, Beyotime, Shanghai, China), and the coverslips were mounted with Antifade Mounting Medium (P0126, Beyotime, Shanghai, China). Finally, the immunofluorescence signals were visualized and recorded by Leica SP5II confocal microscope (Jin et al, 2012).…”

Molecular background of the regional lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer (Review)

“…Ezrin participates in various cellular processes relevant to aggressive tumor behavior and various phases of tumor metastasis (81,82). The immunohistochemical results from the analysis of436 GC samples demonstrated that high Ezrin expression in GC lesions was associated with LN and distant metastasis (83,84) (Table II).…”