MUC1 and MUC2 Protein expression in Uterine Endometrial Cancer

MUC1及 MUC2蛋白在子宮在子宮內膜癌之表達

10.6440/TZUCMJ.200012.0225

趙德彰(Te-Chang Chao)；許永祥(Yung-Hsiang Hsu)

MUC1蛋白 ； MUC2蛋白 ； 子宮內膜癌 ； MUC1 ； MUC2 ； endometrial cancer

慈濟醫學雜誌

12卷4期（2000 / 12 / 01）

225 - 230

英文

目的：黏液是一種大分子量的醣蛋白，目前可分出十種成份，MUC1蛋白主要存在所有的上皮細胞中，而MUC2蛋白則侷限於腸道上皮，尚無報告顯示其出現在子宮內膜癌中，因此實驗目的旨在探討MUC1及MUC2蛋白在子宮內膜癌之表達。材料與方法：本實驗收集慈濟醫院自1990年至1999年共20例子宮內膜癌標本，以免疫組織化學染色偵測MUC1及MUC2蛋白表現情形。結果：MUC1蛋白在全部子宮內膜癌均呈陽性反應，其中三例重度分化不良細胞呈+1、+2或+3反應。結論：這或許因為在腫瘤細胞癌化過程中改變了黏液mRNA標準，或黏液醣蛋白成份。

Objectives: Mucins are a family of heavy glycosylation, high molecular weight glycoproteins. Ten epithelial mucin genes have been cloned. NUC1 is an integral part of the cell membrane in nearly all epithelium including endometium. MUC2, a secretory glycoprotein, is expressed only in the intestinal tract. There is little research on MUC1 and MUC2 expression in endometrial cancer. Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemical stainings were performed on spectimens from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue blocks using immunoperoxidase methods with labeled streptoavidin biotin peroxidase comple. The specimens were from 20 patients who had endometrial cancer between 1990 and 1999 at Tzu Chi General Hospital. Results: MUC1 was expressed in all endometrial cancers. Strong cytoplasmic staining was seen in endometrial cancer, in contrast to apical surface membrane staining in normal endometrium. Three cases of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the endometrium presented with +1 or +2 staining. The other 17 cases of well or moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the endometrium demonstrated +3, +4 or +5 staining, among which 12 had +5 intensity. No evidence of MUC2 exoression in normal endometrium was seen but three cases of endometrial cancer (15%) had focal aberrant expression of MUC2 with +1, +2 and +3 staining. Conclusions: Neoplastic transformation of endometrial cancer is associated with dysregulated expression of both membrane-bound and secreted mucin core protein epitopes and this phenomenon may be due to altered mucin mRNA levels and/or altered mucin glycosylation.