Expression of proteins associated with epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Zhang,Tian; Li,Hao; Zhang,Yang; Wang,Pei; Bian,Huijie; Chen,Zhi‑Nan

doi:10.3892/ol.2017.7701

Expression of proteins associated with epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Authors:
- Tian Zhang
- Hao Li
- Yang Zhang
- Pei Wang
- Huijie Bian
- Zhi‑Nan Chen
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Affiliations: Department of Cell Biology, National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
Published online on: December 28, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2017.7701
Pages: 3042-3048
Copyright: © Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147), pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) and CD44v6 are proteins involved in the epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT). To investigate the prognostic value of CD147 and PTTG, and CD44v6 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), tissue microarray specimens from 76 patients with ESCC were evaluated by immunohistochemistry staining and scored by intensity and proportion of positive areas. Expression levels of CD147, PTTG and CD44v6 were higher in tumor tissues than in matched adjacent tissues. CD147 expression was positively associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.025) and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) system clinical grades (P=0.037). CD147 expression was positively correlated with the expression levels of PTTG (R=0.369; P=0.001) and CD44v6 (R=0.320; P=0.005). In addition, Kaplan‑Meier analysis indicated that positive expression of CD147, PTTG and CD44v6 was significantly associated with poor overall survival times (P=0.045, P=0.014 and P=0.027, respectively). Patients exhibiting CD147‑PTTG co‑expression, CD147‑CD44v6 co‑expression and CD147‑PTTG‑CD44v6 triple‑positive expression had the poorest overall survival rates. In conclusion, the expression of EMT‑associated proteins, including CD147, PTTG and CD44v6, was significantly associated with poor survival in ESCC and these novel targets may serve as potential biomarkers for anticancer therapies.

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