Loss of villin immunoexpression in colorectal carcinoma is associated with poor differentiation and survival

PTEN and soluble epoxide hydrolase in intestinal cell differentiation

Intestinal epithelial differentiation is a highly organised process. It is influenced by a variety of signalling pathways and enzymes, such as the PI3K pathway and soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) from arachidonic acid metabolism. We investigated the changes in the expression of enzymes and lipid messenger from the PI3K pathway, including PTEN, during intestinal cell differentiation in vitro using HT-29 and Caco2 cells and compared them with immunohistochemical patterns of these proteins in human colon. To investigate the possible crosstalk between the PI3K pathway and sEH, we treated HT-29 and Caco2 cells with the sEH inhibitor TPPU. Administration of TPPU to differentiated cells decreased the expression of PTEN, thus reversing the change in its expression observed during cell differentiation. In addition, multiplex immunofluorescence staining confirmed the relationship between the expression of PTEN and villin, a marker of intestinal cell differentiation, ranging from a moderate correlation in undifferentiated cells to a very strong correlation in differentiated cells treated with TPPU. Furthermore, we confirm that PTEN and sEH mirrored their expression patterns in samples of prenatal and adult human intestine compared to tumours using immunohistochemical staining. Taken together, it appears that PTEN and sEH cooperate in the process of intestinal cell differentiation. A better understanding of the crosstalk between the PI3K pathway and sEH and its consequences for cell differentiation is highly desirable, as several sEH inhibitors are under clinical investigation for the treatment of various diseases.

Subchronic exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate differentially affects the colon and ileum in adult female mice

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a large-molecular-weight phthalate added to plastics to impart versatile properties. DEHP can be found in medical equipment and devices, food containers, building materials, and children's toys. Although DEHP exposure occurs most commonly by ingesting contaminated foods in the majority of the population, its effects on the gastrointestinal tract have not been well studied. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of subchronic exposure to DEHP on the ileum and colon morphology, gene expression, and immune microenvironment. Adult C57BL/6 female mice were orally dosed with corn oil (control, n = 7) or DEHP (0.02, 0.2, or 30 mg/kg, n = 7/treatment dose) for 30-34 days. Mice were euthanized during diestrus, and colon and ileum tissues were collected for RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Subchronic DEHP exposure in the ileum altered the expression of several immune-mediating factors (Muc1, Lyz1, Cldn1) and cell viability factors (Bcl2 and Aifm1). Similarly, DEHP exposure in the colon impacted the gene expression of factors involved in mediating immune responses (Muc3a, Zo2, Ocln, Il6, and Il17a); and also altered the expression of cell viability factors (Ki67, Bcl2, Cdk4, and Aifm1) as well as a specialized epithelial cell marker (Vil1). Immunohistochemical analysis of the ileum showed DEHP increased expression of VIL1, CLDN1, and TNF and decreased number of T-cells in the villi. Histological analysis of the colon showed DEHP altered morphology and reduced cell proliferation. Moreover, in the colon, DEHP increased the expression of MUC2, MUC1, VIL1, CLDN1, and TNF. DEHP also increased the number of T-cells and Type 2 immune cells in the colon. These data suggest that subchronic DEHP exposure differentially affects the ileum and colon and alters colonic morphology and the intestinal immune microenvironment. These results have important implications for understanding the effects of DEHP on the gastrointestinal system.

Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Origin: Application of Immunohistochemistry With Emphasis to Different Cytokeratin 7 and 20 Staining Patterns

BACKGROUND

Although the primary origin of some carcinomas may be obscure to clinicians, its identification is crucial as it affects prognosis and treatment (especially novel targeted therapies). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) may be helpful in identifying the primary origin of carcinomas. This retrospective survey aimed to evaluate the frequency and accuracy of each IHC marker used to determine the origin of carcinomas.

METHODS

The review of pathology department archives revealed 307 cases of cancer of unknown primary origin (CUP) between 2015 and 2020, which were accessible in the department archives. Demographic information, site of biopsy, clinical and pathologic diagnoses, and IHC results of the patients were collected.

RESULTS

The patients included 157 (51.15%) men and 150 (48.85%) women. The age of the patients ranged from 14 to 92 years, including 106 (34.5%) expired cases. In 27% of cases, the primary origin of carcinoma remained unknown. The agreement between pathologic and clinical diagnoses was 59%. The most common pattern of cytokeratin (CK) expression in CUP was CK7+/CK20- (55.3%), followed by CK7-/CK20- (19%), CK7+/CK20+ (15%), and CK7-/CK20+ (10.7%), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The IHC analysis may improve the diagnosis of CUPs. However, the origin of some cases remains unknown despite an IHC analysis, thereby necessitating the use of more diagnostic procedures or gene expression studies for reaching a definitive diagnosis.

Villin expression in human tumours: a tissue microarray study on 14,398 tumours

BACKGROUND

Villin is a protein of the brush border of epithelial cells which is used as an immunohistochemical marker for colorectal and gastrointestinal neoplasms. However, other tumor entities can also express villin.

METHODS

To comprehensively determine villin expression, tissue microarrays containing 14,398 samples from 118 different tumor types as well as 608 samples of 76 different normal tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Villin was found in 54 of 118 tumor categories, including 36 tumor categories with strong staining. Villin expression was frequent in colorectal, upper gastrointestinal tract, pancreatobiliary, and renal tumors as well as in mucinous ovarian cancers, yolk sac tumors and in neuroendocrine neoplasms. Reduced villin expression was linked to advanced pT stage, lymph vessel invasion and microsatellite instability (p≤0.0006) in colorectal adenocarcinoma. In summary, our data demonstrate that villin expression is most common in gastrointestinal, pancreatobiliary, and neuroendocrine neoplasms, yolk sac tumors and mucinous ovarian cancers.

CONCLUSION

Our data support a high utility of villin immunohistochemistry for the identification of tumors with gastrointestinal, pancreatobiliary, and yolk sac tumor origin. However, considering that at least a weak villin positivity in some tumor cells occurred in 54 different tumor categories, villin immunohistochemistry should be applied as a part of a marker panel rather than as a stand-alone marker.

Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase as an Important Player in Intestinal Cell Differentiation

There is growing evidence that soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) may play a role in cell differentiation. sEH metabolizes biologically highly active and generally cytoprotective epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), generated from arachidonic acid metabolism by CYP epoxygenases (CYP2C and CYP2J subfamilies), to less active corresponding diols. We investigated the effect of sEH inhibitor (TPPU) on the expression of villin, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2J2, and sEH in undifferentiated and in vitro differentiated HT-29 and Caco2 cell lines. The administration of 10 μM TPPU on differentiated HT-29 and Caco2 cells resulted in a significant decrease in expression of villin, a marker for intestinal cell differentiation. It was accompanied by a disruption of the brush border when microvilli appeared sparse and short in atomic force microscope scans of HT-29 cells. Although inhibition of sEH in differentiated HT-29 and Caco2 cells led to an increase in sEH expression in both cell lines, this treatment had an opposite effect on CYP2J2 expression in HT-29 and Caco2 cells. In addition, tissue samples of colorectal carcinoma and adjacent normal tissues from 45 patients were immunostained for sEH and villin. We detected a significant decrease in the expression of both proteins in colorectal carcinoma in comparison to adjacent normal tissue, and the decrease in both sEH and villin expression revealed a moderate positive association. Taken together, our results showed that sEH is an important player in intestinal cell differentiation.

N-Glycomic and Transcriptomic Changes Associated with CDX1 mRNA Expression in Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines

The caudal-related homeobox protein 1 (CDX1) is a transcription factor, which is important in the development, differentiation, and homeostasis of the gut. Although the involvement of CDX genes in the regulation of the expression levels of a few glycosyltransferases has been shown, associations between glycosylation phenotypes and CDX1 mRNA expression have hitherto not been well studied. Triggered by our previous study, we here characterized the N-glycomic phenotype of 16 colon cancer cell lines, selected for their differential CDX1 mRNA expression levels. We found that high CDX1 mRNA expression associated with a higher degree of multi-fucosylation on N-glycans, which is in line with our previous results and was supported by up-regulated gene expression of fucosyltransferases involved in antenna fucosylation. Interestingly, hepatocyte nuclear factors (HNF)4A and HNF1A were, among others, positively associated with high CDX1 mRNA expression and have been previously proven to regulate antenna fucosylation. Besides fucosylation, we found that high CDX1 mRNA expression in cancer cell lines also associated with low levels of sialylation and galactosylation and high levels of bisection on N-glycans. Altogether, our data highlight a possible role of CDX1 in altering the N-glycosylation of colorectal cancer cells, which is a hallmark of tumor development.

Establishment of three novel cell lines derived from African American patients with colorectal carcinoma: A unique tool for assessing racial health disparity

The incidence and mortality rates of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) are higher among African Americans (AAs) compared with Caucasian Americans (CAs). To assess the molecular properties associated with racial health disparity, three cell lines derived from colorectal tumors of three AA subjects were established. Cellular and molecular characterization of the cell lines designated CHTN06, SB501 and SB521 was performed using standard technologies, including immunofluorescence, electron microscopy, karyotyping, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, ELISA and immunoblot analysis. The histology and morphology of CHTN06 xenografts were examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. A total of three AA CRC cell lines derived from primary tumors were established and characterized. These cell lines were successfully cultured without immortalization and were found to be tumorigenic as mouse xenografts. In the present study, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence confirmed the expression of proteins known to be dysregulated in CRC, such as p53, DNA mismatch repair proteins and villin-1. Oncogenic miRNAs (i.e., miR-17, miR-21, miR-182, miR-210 and miR-222) were overexpressed in the AA CRC lines compared with the CA CRC lines (HT-29, HCT116 and SW480). Additionally, the AA CRC cell lines exhibited a differential inflammatory profile compared with HT-29 (CA CRC cell line); specifically noted was IL-8 secretion in response to inflammatory stimuli. In conclusion, three novel cell lines derived from AA CRC tissues were generated. These cell lines were characterized as epithelial in nature and exhibited differential expression of several miRNAs and inflammatory responses compared with commercially available cell lines of CA origin. The CRC cell lines CHTN06, SB501 and SB521 represent novel tools that may be used to provide diverse in vitro and in vivo models for studying CRC and racial health disparity.

Forecast of actin-binding proteins as the oncotarget in osteosarcoma - a review of mechanism, diagnosis and therapy

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common bone malignant tumor with a high rate of lung metastasis and principally emerges in children and adolescents. Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy is widely used around the world, a high rate of chemoresistance occurs and frequently generates a poor prognosis. Therefore, finding a new appropriate prognostic marker for OS is a valuable research direction, which will give patients a better chance to receive proper therapy. Actin-binding proteins (ABPs) are a group of proteins that interact with actin cytoskeleton and play a crucial role in the regulation of the cell motility and morphology in eukaryotes. Meanwhile, ABPs also act as a bridge between the cytomembrane and nucleus, which transmit the outside-in and inside-out signals in cytoplasm. Furthermore, ABPs alter the dynamic structure of actin and regulate the invasion and metastasis of cancer. Hence, ABPs have a wide application in predicting the prognosis, and may be new targets, in tumor therapy. This review focuses on a series of ABPs and discusses their modulatory functions. It provides a new insight into the classification of ABPs’ functions in the process of invasion and metastasis in OS and illuminates the potential ability in predicting the prognosis of OS patients.

Clinicopathological study of 9 cases of prostate cancer involving the rectal wall

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer involving the rectal wall is rare and may lead to diagnostic pitfalls.

CASE PRESENTATION

Out of 9504 patients with rectal tumors between January 2003 and January 2015, 9 patients (elderly with a mean age of 74 years) with prostate cancer involving the rectal wall were clinically misdiagnosed with rectal cancer. The lesions were located in the rectum, and included 3 circumferential rectal masses, 1 ulceration lesion, 1 crater-like mass, and 4 protruding lesions. Specimens were acquired using biopsy, fine needle aspiration, or resection. The initial symptoms of these patients included rectal urgency, bowel obstruction, and lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Prostate-related symptoms were not obvious. Histologically, 2 cases showed cancer cell invasion in the mucosa, 1 showed transmural invasion from the mucosa to subserosal soft tissues, and 7 cases had submucosa and muscularis propria involvement. All the 9 cases had muscularis propria involvement. However, there were no intraepithelial neoplasias in the mucosal layer, which is reminiscent of rectal carcinoma. The tumors consisted of small-sized or foamy cells that formed acinus-like, duct-like, and cribriform-like structures. We conducted histological staining and an immunohistochemical analysis for CDX-2, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), P504s, villin, carcinoembryonic antigen, CK-pan, cytokeratin 20, and Ki-67. All tumors were PSA and CK-pan positive, 5 of 9 tumors were P504s-positive, and all tumors were negative for the other markers. All patients underwent standard therapy for prostate cancer after the definitive pathological diagnosis. As of March 31, 2015, 8 patients were alive and 1 had died of prostate cancer 6 months posttreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Adenocarcinoma appearing in the rectal wall is not always rectal carcinoma. It is necessary to perform a differential diagnosis for prostate cancer in cases of rectal malignant tumors in elderly male patients. Any treatment should be postponed until the final definitive diagnosis is reached.