Sialoglycoconjugate expression in primary colorectal cancer and metastatic lymph node tissues.

Background/aims: Aberrant cell surface glycosylation, and especially excessive sialylation, is thought to have great importance in tumor malignancy. To investigate the clinicopathological significance of sialylation in colorectal cancer, we performed histochemical analyses using sialic acid-binding lectins.

Methodology: Primary colorectal cancer and lymph node tissues obtained from 80 cases were subjected to lectin-immunohistochemical staining using Maackia amurensis leukoagglutinin (MAL) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA).

Subcellular localization of KL-6 mucin in colorectal carcinoma cell lines: association with metastatic potential and cell morphology.

KL-6 mucin, a type of MUC1 mucin, is expressed in many malignant tissues including colorectal adenocarcinoma. Previous studies on colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues showed that subcellular localization of KL-6 mucin was associated with the tumor metastatic potential and the patient prognosis. In the present study, to further investigate the significance of subcellular localization of KL-6 mucin, we examined KL-6 mucin expression in colorectal carcinoma cell lines, COLO 201, LoVo, WiDr, and DLD-1, by means of Western blot, flow cytometric and immunocytochemical analyses in conjunction with xylitol treatment.

Epidermal growth factor-mediated growth control of confluent mammary epithelial cells cultured on artificial basement membrane.

Local epithelial cell growth is involved in physiological and pathological processes such as development, morphogenesis and carcinogenesis. Cell growth is triggered by the binding of growth factors, such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) to their own receptors (i.e.

Disruption of pRb-p16INK4 pathway: a common event in ampullary carcinogenesis.

Background/aims: Aberrations of the pRb (Retinoblastoma gene protein)-p16INK4 pathway play a critical role in carcinogenesis. Our objective is to evaluate its role in tumorigenesis and the development of ampullary cancer.

Methodology: We examined expression status of p16INK4 protein and pRb immunohistochemically and assessed their possible prognostic relevance in 36 ampullary cancers.

Des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin expression in cancer and/or non-cancer liver tissues: association with survival of patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin (DCP), also known as a protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II, is an abnormal prothrombin. The level of serum DCP is used in clinical diagnosis and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our previous immunohistochemical study showed that DCP is expressed not only in cancer tissues but also in the surrounding non-cancer tissues of HCC patients.

Measurement of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin levels in cancer and non-cancer tissue in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

In a recent experiment, we discovered that liver tissue adjacent to HCC can also produce des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP). The goal of this study was to advance measurements of DCP levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-cancer tissues using an electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) and immunohistochemistry, and to assess their clinical significance. DCP levels in HCC tissues ranged from 0.