Abstract
Tenascin-C is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein produced in response to epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during organogenesis and tissue remodelling. It has therefore been proposed as a stromal marker for epithelial malignancy. To test this hypothesis, 30 human lung cancers, presenting a variety of clinicopathological features, and six specimens of normal tissue were examined by Western and Northern blotting of tenascin-C protein and mRNA. The results obtained were: (1) elevated tenascin-C expression was detected in all 30 cases by Western blotting, with mRNA increase in 22 of them; (2) mRNA for a large isoform of tenascin-C, including an alternatively spliced sequence, was expressed in lung cancer tissues but not in normal lungs; and (3) metastasis to lymph nodes was frequently found in cases whose tenascin-C was degraded into small fragments. These results suggest that tenascin-C degradation can be used as a marker for metastatic potential of a tumour.
Highlights
We examined the molecular size of TN-C in human lung cancers using both Western and Northern blotting, in particular concentrating on the relation to clinicopathological features
The cancers were histologically classified as 11 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and 19 adenocarcinomas
Lymph node metastasis was observed in 13 cases including five SCCs and eight adenocarcinomas
Summary
Primary lung cancers from 30 patients who had undergone surgical resection at Mie University Hospital or Suzuka Kaisei Hospital between 1989 and 1991 were used in this study. The cancers were histologically classified as 11 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and 19 adenocarcinomas. Lymph node metastasis was observed in 13 cases including five SCCs and eight adenocarcinomas. The other 17 cases showed no metastases. Six specimens of normal tissues either from cancer surroundings or from fresh autopsy material confirmed subsequently by histological examination to be free of any pathological change were used as controls. All tissues were examined by Western blotting for TN-C protein and by Northern and dot blotting for TN-C mRNA
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