鼻咽癌中上皮间充质改变现象观察

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

目的观察鼻咽癌中上皮间充质改变(EMT)现象,初步探讨上皮间充质改变在鼻咽癌侵袭转移中的作用。方法对58例鼻咽癌和29例鼻咽黏膜慢性炎免疫组化SP法检测Vimentin抗体,根据结果,Vimentin阳性病例再用相同的方法分别检测E-cadherin、β-catenin和Snail的表达。结果58例鼻咽癌中8例边缘部位癌细胞Vimentin阳性表达,29例慢性炎上皮细胞均为阴性(P=0.037)。在8例阳性病例中,Vimentin阳性的区域癌细胞E-cadherin染色明显弱于Vimentin阴性部位,甚至呈阴性;Snail在肿瘤周边区的阳性细胞数量明显多于中央区,阳性强度也强于中央区;β-catenin在肿瘤中央区为细胞间连接部位膜阳性,周边区部分细胞,尤其是散在于间质中单个癌细胞呈现阳性表达向胞质胞核内移现象。结论鼻咽癌在侵袭和转移过程中存在EMT现象,EMT现象的发现为研究鼻咽癌转移机制提供了新的理论基础,为鼻咽癌的治疗提供了新途径。

Objective To explore epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT）in nasopharyngeal carcinoma（NPC） and study its role in NPC invasion and metastasis. Methods Vimentin, a mesenchymal biomarker, was detected in 58 cases of NPC and 29 chronic nasopharyngitis using immunohistochemistry. Then, E-cadherin, Snail and β-catenin were examined in the Vimentin positive cases. Results In 58 NPCs, 8 cases Were positive for Vimentin at tumor marginal areas while epithelial cells were all negative in 29 chronic nasopharyngitis （P=0.037）. In 8 Vimentin-positive cases, staining of E-cadherin of Vimentin-positive areas is much weaker than that of negative areas ; snail positive tumor cells of marginal areas were more numerous and stronger than those of center areas. Whereas mostly presenting in adherens junctions in central areas, β-catenin positive signals moved into cytoplasm and nuclei in edge area tumor cells, especially in individual tumor cells. Conclusion EMT is not a rare phenomenon in NPC and may directly result in tumor cell invasion and metastasis.