Ultrastructural localization of basigin in normal human epidermis

Epidermal CD147 expression plays a key role in IL-22-induced psoriatic dermatitis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by abnormal keratinocyte proliferation and terminal differentiation. Interleukin-22 (IL-22) and the transcription factor Stat3 play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. CD147 is a transmembrane glycosylation protein that belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily. Our previous studies have shown that CD147 is a marker of high keratinocyte proliferation and poor keratinocyte differentiation as well as a psoriasis susceptibility gene. The current study demonstrates that CD147 is highly expressed in psoriatic skin lesions. Specific CD147 over-expression in the epidermis of K5-promoter transgenic mice promotes imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like inflammation characterized by acanthosis, granular layer loss and inflammatory cell infiltration. We also found that IL-22 increases CD147 transcription in vitro and in vivo and that Stat3 binds directly to the CD147 promoter between positions -854 and -440, suggesting that CD147 expression is up-regulated in patients with psoriasis through Stat3 activation. In addition, CD147 knockdown dramatically blocks IL-22-mediated Stat3 activation as well as IL-22-induced cytokine, chemokine and antimicrobial factor expression. Together, these findings show that CD147 is a novel and key mediator of IL-22-induced psoriatic alterations in the epidermis and might be a therapeutic target in patients with psoriasis.

CD147 promotes the proliferation, invasiveness, migration and angiogenesis of human lung carcinoma cells

Cluster of differentiation (CD) 147 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is highly expressed at the tumor cell surface, which stimulates fibroblasts to produce a large number of matrix metalloproteinases and promotes tumor invasion and metastasis and tumor-induced angiogenesis. The present study investigated the functions and the role of CD147 in the human lung carcinoma A549 cell line. The present study constructed expression and interference [small interfering (si) RNA] lentiviral vectors of CD147, which established stable overexpression and low expression of CD147 in the A549 cell line, named A549-CD147 and A549-siCD147, respectively. The differences in biological features between various levels of CD147 expression in A549 cells was investigated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell, scratch and lumen formation assays. The results of the CCK-8 assay revealed that A549-CD147 cell proliferation was significantly increased and A549-siCD147 cell proliferation was decreased compared with the control groups. The A549-CD147 cells had the largest number of cells penetrating the Matrigel in the Transwell assay, which indicates that upregulation of CD147 expression increases the infiltration capacity of cells. The scratch assay revealed that A549-CD147 cells have the highest capacity for migration, while A549-siCD147 cells have the lowest. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis demonstrated that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was proportional to the expression level of CD147 at the mRNA and protein level. The lumen formation assay revealed that the number of vessel lumens that human umbilical vein endothelial cells formed in the A549-CD147 cell supernatant was increased compared with the A549-siCD147 cells. Collectively, the present results suggest that CD147 is important in the promotion of lung carcinoma cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis and the upregulation of VEGF, which stimulates the angiogenesis of lung carcinoma. In conclusion, CD147 may be a potential target in the treatment of lung carcinoma.

Epithelial expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer/CD147 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 in neoplasms and precursor lesions derived from cutaneous squamous cells: An immunohistochemical study

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (CD147) is a transmembrane glycoprotein involved in the regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The study investigated CD147 and MMP-2 expression in epidermis of cutaneous squamous lesions. CD147 and MMP-2 expressions were evaluated immunohistochemically in 44 specimens: 18 actinic keratoses (AK), 6 squamous cell carcinomas in situ (SCCIS), 13 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC; peritumoral and invasive portions assessed), and 7 normal skins. Patterns of expression were assessed, with MMP-2 in nuclei (MMP-2n) and cytoplasm (MMP-2c) evaluated separately. The expression of each marker was quantified using a calculated immunohistochemical/histologic score (H-score). Correlations were analyzed for the marker H-scores in each study group. Associations between H-scores and histopathologic parameters were also evaluated. CD147 H-score was the highest in SCC (invasive islands), followed by AK, SCCIS, and control specimens, respectively. MMP-2n and MMP-2c H-scores were the highest in AK, followed by SCCIS, SCC, and control specimens, respectively. MMP-2c and MMP-2n H-scores were significantly higher in peritumoral epidermis than in invasive islands of SCC. MMP-2c and CD147 H-scores were positively correlated in the peritumoral SCCs. CD147 H-score was positively correlated with tumor differentiation in SCC. The findings suggest that overexpression of CD147 plays a role in the development of SCC.

CD147 expression in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

CD147 is upregulated in multiple cancer types, but its expression in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is unknown. Our purpose was to evaluate the expression patterns of CD147 and related monocarboxylate transporters (MCT1, MCT4) to determine their correlation with survival.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with advanced stage cutaneous SCC of the head and neck who presented to a tertiary care center between 1998 and 2006 (n=50). CD147, MCT1 and MCT4 expression levels were assessed using immunofluorescence analysis of archived tumor samples and correlated with survival and clinicopathologic characteristics.

RESULTS

The majority of patients (92%, n = 46) were diagnosed with stage III disease, with 46% (n = 23) having positive regional lymph node metastasis and 8% (n = 4) with distant metastasis. Primary malignancies had an overexpression of CD147 (78%; n = 35), MCT1 (23%; n = 10) and MCT4 (47%; n = 20). In addition, there was a significant relationship between the overexpression of CD147 and node positive disease (p = 0.048). Two- and five-year survival rates were 69 and 61%, respectively. There was a trend toward decreased survival in patients with overexpression of CD147 (p = 0.17), MCT1 (p = 0.11) and MCT4 (p = 0.15).

CONCLUSION

CD147 may represent a biomarker or potential therapeutic target in advanced cutaneous SCC.

CD147 overexpression is a prognostic factor and a potential therapeutic target in bladder cancer

CD147, also named extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN), has been shown to be involved in the progression of malignancy by regulating expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of CD147 in the biology of bladder cancer and to determine its potential as a therapeutic target. CD147 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in 108 bladder cancers using a tissue microarray annotated with patient follow-up. In immunohistochemistry, CD147 protein expression was associated with poor prognosis (P<0.001), lymph node status (P<0.001), tumor stage (P=0.003), histologic grade (P=0.011). Multivariate analysis showed that CD147 overexpression was an independent prognostic factor (P=0.019). Infection of T24 bladder cancer cells with an adenovirus that expressed a small interfering RNA (siRNA) against CD147 efficiently inhibited CD147 protein and mRNA expression. This resulted in decreased proliferation, soft agar colony formation, migration, and invasion of T24 cells in vitro. Moreover, downregulation of CD147 reduced secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and expression of VEGF in these cells. Our findings suggest that CD147 overexpression plays an important role in progression of bladder cancer, and CD147 could be a potential target of bladder cancer therapy.

Expression of basigin in reproductive tissues of estrogen receptor-{alpha} or -{beta} null mice

Basigin plays important roles in both male and female reproduction because basigin (Bsg) null male and female mice are infertile. The aim of the present study was to determine whether basigin expression in reproductive organs requires estrogen receptor-alpha (ESR1, ERalpha) or -beta (ESR2, ERbeta). Expression of basigin protein in the testis, ovary, and male and female reproductive tracts was studied in adult wild-type (WT), Esr1-null (alphaERKO), and Esr2-null (betaERKO) mice by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Basigin mRNA levels in ovary and uterus were examined by quantitative RT-PCR. In females, basigin protein expression was observed mainly in granulosa and interstitial cells of the ovary and epithelial cells of the proximal oviduct in all genotypes. Basigin protein was also expressed in the uterine epithelium at proestrus and estrus in WT and betaERKO mice but not in alphaERKO mice. However, a higher level of basigin mRNA was observed in uteri of alphaERKO mice compared with WT and betaERKO mice. In males, basigin was expressed in Leydig cells and all germ cells except spermatogonia in all genotypes. Basigin was present in epithelial cells lining the efferent ductules in WT and betaERKO mice, but expression was greatly reduced in alphaERKO mice. In epididymal ducts, basigin expression was observed in epithelial cells in the caput and cauda in all genotypes. These data suggest that expression of basigin protein requires ESR1, but not ESR2, in the uterus and efferent ductules, but is independent of estrogen receptor in the ovary, oviduct, testis, and epididymis.

High incidence of EMMPRIN expression in human tumors

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer expressed by tumor cells stimulates peritumoral fibroblasts to produce matrix metalloproteinases, thus contributing to tumor invasion and metastasis. To assess its suitability as potential therapeutic target, the overall incidence of EMMPRIN expression in normal and neoplastic tissues was analyzed. EMMPRIN expression was detected immunohistochemically using monoclonal antibodies MEM-M6/1 and HIM6 and tissue microarrays with 2,348 and 608 tissue samples from 129 distinct tumor types and 76 different normal tissues, respectively. Expression and glycosylation state of EMMPRIN in human breast cancer cells were analyzed by Western blot analysis with monoclonal antibodies recognizing distinct carbohydrate structures and biochemical methods. EMMPRIN expression was found in 112 of 129 tumor entities analyzed with malignant tumors being EMMPRIN positive more frequently than benign tumors. A remarkable heterogeneity in EMMPRIN expression between tumor entities was observed. Among others, squamous-cell carcinomas (60-100%), pancreatic (87%), chromophobic kidney (83%), hepatocellular (83%) or medullary breast (83%) adenocarcinomas as well as glioblastoma multiforme (79%) presented with a particular high incidence of EMMPRIN expression. There were a limited number of EMMPRIN-positive normal cell types including proliferatively active and differentiating epithelial cells, germ cells, myocardial cells in the left heart ventricle or vascular endothelial cells of the brain. We could further demonstrate that breast cancer cells expressed EMMPRIN isoforms differing in the presence or absence of Lewis X glycan structures. Our results may assist in defining the suitability of EMMPRIN as therapeutic target and predicting negative side effects.

Basigin (CD147) is expressed on melanoma cells and induces tumor cell invasion by stimulating production of matrix metalloproteinases by fibroblasts

EMMPRIN, which is identical to human basigin (CD147), interacts with fibroblasts and stimulates expression of MMPs, which play an important role in tumor invasiveness and metastasis. In the present study, we demonstrated that coculture of basigin-expressing human MM cells with dermal fibroblasts resulted in the induction of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3 and MT1-MMP production by fibroblasts and of melanoma cell invasion through a reconstituted basement membrane. Antibody to basigin inhibited both the production of MMPs by fibroblasts and the invasiveness of melanoma cells. Expression of basigin and MMPs in MM and surrounding fibroblasts was examined immunohistochemically in 28 specimens from 18 MM patients without metastasis and 10 with metastasis, to investigate whether basigin plays a role in metastasis of MM in vivo. Basigin was expressed in melanoma cells but not in fibroblasts. MM with metastasis had significantly higher basigin expression compared to MM without metastasis. There were significant differences between MMs with and without metastasis in the expression of MMPs in both melanoma cells and fibroblasts. Expression of MMPs in fibroblasts was positively correlated with expression levels of basigin. These immunohistochemic findings indicate that MMPs might be expressed in fibroblasts as well as melanoma cells concomitantly with basigin, which was expressed in melanoma cells more frequently in MM with metastasis. Basigin is highly expressed in melanoma cells and may play an important role in their invasiveness and metastasis by stimulating surrounding fibroblasts to express MMPs.