Protein expression patterns in cancer-associated fibroblasts and cells undergoing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancers.
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ABSTRACT: Recent studies have shown that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contribute to invasive and metastatic abilities of ovarian cancer (OC) cells. In the present study, we attempted to identify the role of CAF- and EMT-related proteins in OCs, including serous carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, endometrioid carcinoma and clear cell carcinoma using an immunohistochemical approach. The following CAF-related markers were used: CD10, podoplanin, fibroblast activating protein (FAP), platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR?), PDGFR?, S100A4 and ?-smooth muscle actin (?-SMA). In addition, the following EMT-related markers were investigated: Slug, TWIST1 and ZEB1We performed hierarchical cluster analysis to group the samples according to their scoring. Subgroup 1 was characterized by high expression of CD10, podoplanin, ?-SMA, Slug and ZEB1, whereas subgroup 2 was closely associated with high expression of podoplanin, PDGFR?, PDGFR?, ?-SMA, and Slug. In addition, marked expression of CD10 was observed in subgroup 3. High expression of ?-SMA was a distinctive feature in subgroup 4, and expression of podoplanin and ?-SMA characterized subgroup 5. Each subgroup was correlated with a histological type. The fact that different histological types were associated with different subgroups suggests the presence of distinct and heterogeneous subpopulations of CAFs in OC.
SUBMITTER: Fukagawa D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6007939 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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