ADAM9 is highly expressed in renal cell cancer and is associated with tumour progression

RNAi-mediated ADAM9 gene silencing inhibits metastasis of adenoid cystic carcinoma cells

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 9 (ADAM9) is a type I transmembrane protein that has been associated with cancer development and metastases. Here, we show that ADAM9 is highly expressed in metastatic cancer tissues and in an adenoid cystic carcinoma cell line with a high metastatic potential. Using RNA interference for gene silencing, we show that ADAM9 is essential for in vitro cancer cell proliferation and invasion as well as in vivo cancer metastasis in an experimental murine model of lung metastases. These data indicate that ADAM9 is potentially an important new therapeutic target for the prevention of tumor metastases in adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Increased expression of a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for tumor progression and prognosis

OBJECTIVE

A disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 has been involved in the carcinogenesis of various solid tumors. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic relevance of a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 by immunohistochemistry.

METHODS

The expression profile of a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 in association with the clinicopathological factors was determined by immunohistochemical analysis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and its potential prognostic value was investigated by comparing the survival rate between a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9-positive and a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9-negative patients.

RESULTS

Hepatocellular carcinoma tissues with positive a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 expression were larger and less differentiated than those with negative expression (P = 0.02 and 0.008, respectively). Portal venous invasion, hepatic venous invasion, bile duct invasion and intrahepatic metastasis were detected significantly more frequently in a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9-positive group (P = 0.009, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). In addition, high alpha-fetoprotein levels were significantly associated with the expression of a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 in hepatocellular carcinoma (P = 0.01). Moreover, a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9-positive group had significantly poorer outcomes than a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9-negative group (P = 0.01) and was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

A disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 is over-expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, consistent with findings in other tumor entities, and is an independent prognostic marker of overall survival following hepatectomy. Further studies are needed to investigate the precise function of a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Involvement of ADAMs in tumorigenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma: Is it merely fortuitous or a real pathogenic link?

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and one of the most frequent types of cancer worldwide. It normally develops in patients with chronic liver disease, especially cirrhosis, although some cases without an apparent underlying liver disease have been reported. The pathogenesis of HCC is multi-factorial and complex. Hepatitis viruses are the main factors favoring the development of HCC. In fact, chronic inflammation associated with hepatitis C or B virus infection can lead to progressive liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and ultimately HCC. Chronic inflammation and liver fibrosis cause a continuous remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), a dynamic process that involves several molecules including integrins and matrix processing enzymes. An increasing body of evidence indicates that ADAMs are involved in promoting tumor formation and progression of HCC. A Disintegrin And Metalloproteases (ADAMs) are a group of proteins belonging to the zinc protease superfamily. ADAMs are usually transmembrane proteins that contain disintegrin and metalloprotease domains and are, therefore, able to carry out both cell adhesion and protease activities. Soluble isoforms of ADAMs have also been discovered and characterized. In this review, we focus on the contribution of ADAM proteins to HCC tumorigenesis and cancer progression. The potential role of ADAMs as key modulators of tumor-stroma interactions during tumor progression, by means of the activities of their constituent domains, is also discussed.

GOLPH2 expression may serve as diagnostic marker in seminomas

BACKGROUND

GOLPH2 (Golgi phosphoprotein 2) is a novel Golgi membrane protein. Despite its unknown physiologic function, however, it has been proposed as a biomarker for hepatocellular and prostate carcinoma due to its upregulation in those cancer entities. Whether the overexpression of GOLPH2 is tumour specific or a generic parameter of malignancy and whether this finding is true for additional carcinomas has not been determined. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression pattern of GOLPH2 in testicular seminomas, the most common histologic subtype of testicular neoplasm.

METHODS

GOLPH2 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 69 testicular seminomas and compared to the expression rates in matching normal testicular tissue and intratubular germ cell neoplasia of unclassified type (IGCNU). In addition, a subset of Leydig cell tumours was analyzed accordingly.

RESULTS

GOLPH2 was consistently overexpressed (89.9%) in seminomas. Matching non-neoplastic tissue showed weak or negative staining. The observed differences between non-neoplastic and neoplastic tissue were statistically highly significant (p < 0.001). There were no significant associations with tumour status. Interestingly, GOLPH2 was also highly expressed in the intertubular Leydig cells as well as in Leydig cell tumours.

CONCLUSIONS

GOLPH2 protein is highly expressed in seminomas and in Leydig cell tumours. This study fosters the association of GOLPH2 with malignant neoplastic processes. The staining pattern is easily assessable and consistent which is a favourable property especially in clinical settings. GOLPH2 could be a novel immunohistochemical marker for the assessment of testicular neoplasms, especially against the background that in analogy to hepatocellular carcinomas complementary GOLPH2 serum levels might be helpful in detecting metastases or recurrent tumour. Therefore serum studies and analyses of GOLPH2 expression in non-seminomatous germ cell tumours are strongly warranted.

Down-regulation of the pro-apoptotic XIAP associated factor-1 (XAF1) during progression of clear-cell renal cancer

BACKGROUND

Decreased expression of the interferon-stimulated, putative tumour suppressor gene XAF1 has been shown to play a role during the onset, progression and treatment failure in various malignancies. However, little is yet known about its potential implication in the tumour biology of clear-cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC).

METHODS

This study assessed the expression of XAF1 protein in tumour tissue obtained from 291 ccRCC patients and 68 normal renal tissue samples, utilizing immunohistochemistry on a tissue-micro-array. XAF1 expression was correlated to clinico-pathological tumour features and prognosis.

RESULTS

Nuclear XAF1 expression was commonly detected in normal renal- (94.1%) and ccRCC (91.8%) samples, without significant differences of expression levels. Low XAF1 expression in ccRCC tissue, however, was associated with progression of tumour stage (p = 0.040) and grade (p < 0.001). Low XAF1 tumour levels were also prognostic of significantly shortened overall survival times in univariate analysis (p = 0.018), but did not provide independent prognostic information.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest down-regulation of XAF1 expression to be implicated in ccRCC progression and implies that its re-induction may provide a therapeutic approach. Although the prognostic value of XAF1 in ccRCC appears to be limited, its predictive value remains to be determined, especially in patients with metastatic disease undergoing novel combination therapies of targeted agents with Interferon-alpha.

Expression of ADAM9 in CIN3 lesions and squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix

OBJECTIVE

ADAM9 is a member of the ADAM family which is involved in cellular processes like cell adhesion, migration and signalling [M.L. Moss, J.M. White, M.H. Lambert, R.C. Andrews, TACE and other ADAM proteases as targets for drug discovery. Drug Discov. Today 2001; 6:417-426., G. Murphy, The ADAMS: signalling scissors in the tumour microenvironment. Nat. Cancer Rev. 2008; 8:929-941.]. ADAM9 overexpression has been described in many of solid tumours including prostate, renal, pancreas, lung and gastric cancer [R.J. Grutzmann, J. Luttges, B. Sipos, O. Ammerpohl, F. Dobrowolski, I. Alldinger, et al., ADAM9 expression in pancreatic cancer is associated with tumour type and is a prognostic factor in ductal adenocarcinoma. Br. J. Cancer 2004; 90:1053-1058., C.A. Iacobuzio-Donahue, A. Maitra, M. Olsen, A.W. Lowe, N.T. van Heek, C. Rosty, et al., Exploration of global gene expression patterns in pancreatic adenocarcinoma using cDNA microarrays. Am. J. Pathol. 2003; 162: 1151-1162., Y. Shintani, S. Higashiyama, M. Ohta, H. Hirabayashi, S. Yamamoto,T. Yoshimasu, et al., Overexpression of ADAM9 in non-small cell lung cancer correlates with brain metastasis. Cancer Res. 2004; 64:4190-4196., S. Carl-McGrath, U. Lendeckel, M. Ebert, A. Roessner, C. Rocken, The disintegrin-metalloproteinases ADAM9, ADAM12, and ADAM15 are upregulated in gastric cancer. Int. J. Oncol. 2005; 26:17-24., F.R. Fritzsche, K. Wassermann, M. Jung, A. Tölle, I. Kristiansen, M. Lein, et al., ADAM9 is highly expressed in renal cell cancer and is associated with tumour progression. BMC Cancer 2008; 8:179.]. The involvement of this protease in cervical carcinogenesis has not been yet investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of ADAM9 in normal epithelium, CIN3 lesions and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the uterine cervix.

METHODS

Archived paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from biopsy or surgery specimens obtained from 50 subjects with CIN3 and squamous cancer of the cervix were studied by immunohistochemistry using heat-induced epitope retrieval for ADAM9 expression.

RESULTS

Weak expression of ADAM9 was found in the normal cervical epithelium with weak cytoplasmatic staining but also membrane immunoreactivity. Evident staining for ADAM9 was detected in 31 out of 36 (86%) CIN3 lesions and in 13 out of 14 (93%) squamous cell carcinomas of the uterine cervix. Staining was stronger in SCC compared to CIN3 lesions. Moderate staining was detected in 64% (9/14) of SCC and in 36% (13/36) CIN3 lesions. Weak staining was observed in 50% (18/36) of CIN3 lesions and in 29% (4/14) of SCC. The difference in the ADAM9 protein expression between cervical squamous carcinomas and normal epithelium was highly significant. Statistical significance was also found for the increased expression observed in CIN3 lesions versus normal squamous epithelium.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show for the first time, that ADAM9 expression is low in the squamous epithelium of the cervix, but is increased in CIN3 lesions as well as SCCs being the increase in both cases statistically significant.

GOLPH2 expression in renal cell cancer

Background

Renal cell carcinomas (RCC) are among the most common and most lethal genitourinary malignancies. GOLPH2 (golgi phosphoprotein 2, GOLM1) has recently been proposed as a biomarker for hepatocellular and prostate cancer. In this study we analysed the expression patterns and the prognostic and diagnostic value of GOLPH2 in RCC.

Methods

GOLPH2 protein expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry in 104 clinically well characterized RCC cases in comparison with matched normal kidney tissue and in association with clinico-pathological parameters. Statistical analyses including Kaplan Meier analyses were performed with SPSS version 15.0.

Results

GOLPH2 was highly expressed in normal renal tubules and in almost half of RCC with a statistically significant predominance in the papillary and chromophobe histological subtypes. No other associations with clinico-pathological parameters were detectable. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a weak trend for unfavourable prognosis of tumours with high GOLPH2 expression, but failed significance.

Conclusion

GOLPH2 protein is expressed in normal renal tissue (especially in distal tubular epithelia) and is down-regulated in the majority of clear cell RCC. In papillary and chromophobe RCC GOLPH2 expression is consistently present. In contrast to its diagnostic value in hepatocellular and prostatic carcinomas, a prognostic or diagnostic value of GOLPH2 in RCC appears to be unlikely.