Correlation between the expression of high mobility group protein A2 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of Kazakh ethnic

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of high mobility group protein A2 (HMGA2) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) of Kazakh ethnic and its regulation role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).Methods The expression of HMGA2 and EMT related protein Snail and E-cadherin in carcinoma tissues and adjacent tissues of 72 Kazakh with ESCC was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) SP method,and the correlation among these proteins and invasion as well as metastasis of ESCC was analyzed.McNemar's test and Chi square test were performed for the rate comparison.Spearman method was used for correlation analysis.Results The positive rate of HMGA2 and Snail expression in carcinoma tissues of patients with ESCC was 83.3％ (60/72) and 45.8％ (33/72),which were higher than those of adjacent tissues (52.8 ％,38/72,McNemar's test,P＜0.01 ; 29.2 ％,21/72,McNemar's test,P＜ 0.05).The expression of HMGA2 was positively correlated with the expression of Snail in adjacent tissues (r=0.262,P＜0.05).The positive expression rate of E-cadherin in carcinoma tissues was 40.3 ％ (29/72),which was significantly lower than the expression in carcinoma adjacent tissues (72.2％,52/72,McNemar's test,P＜0.01).The expression of Snail was correlated with depth of tumor invasion.The expression quantity of Snail in patients with tumor invasion to the outer membrane of the esophagus and surrounding tissues was significantly higher than that in patients with tumor invasion to mucous layer and muscular layer (x2 =5.308,P＜0.05).The expression of E-cadherin was correlated with the age of patients and the degree of tumor differentiation.The expression of E-cadherin was higher in patients less than 58 years old (x2 =3.952,P＜0.05) and with high degree of differentiation (x2 =8.080,P＜0.05).Conclusion The low expressions of E-cadherin and the high expressions of HMGA2 and Snail in carcinoma tissues of Kazakh's patients with ESCC indicates that EMT may participate in the genesis and development of ESCC. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms; Kazakh; HMGA2 protein; Immunohistochemistry; Epithelial mesenchymal transition