Abstract
BackgroundIt has been well documented that apolipoprotein M (apoM) is principally expressed in the liver and kidney. However we found that there was weak apoM expression in other tissues or organs too, which could not be ignored. In the present study, we therefore examined apoM expression in human colorectal tissues including cancer tissues, cancer adjacent normal tissues, polyp tissues and normal mucosa as well as inflammatory mucosa.MethodsTissue samples were collected from patients who underwent surgical resection or endoscopic examination. ApoM mRNA levels were determined by the real-time RT-PCR and apoM protein mass were examined by the immunohistochemistry.ResultsApoM protein can be detected in all colorectal tissues. However, apoM protein mass were significantly lower in the cancer tissues than its matched adjacent normal tissues, polyp tissues, normal mucosa and inflammatory mucosa. In parallel, apoM mRNA levels in the colorectal cancer tissues (0.0536 ± 0.0131) were also significantly lower than those in their adjacent normal tissues (0.1907 ± 0.0563) (P = 0.033). Interestingly, apoM mRNA levels in colorectal cancer tissues were statistic significant higher in the patients with lymph node metastasis than the patients without lymph node metastasis (P = 0.008). Patients under Dukes' C and D stages had much higher apoM mRNA levels than patients under Dukes' A and B stages (P = 0.034).ConclusionIt is concluded that apoM could also be expressed in human colorectal tissues besides liver and kidney. ApoM mRNA levels in the colorectal cancer tissues were significantly increased in the patients with lymph node metastasis. Whether increased apoM expression in the patients with lymph node metastasis being related to patients' prognosis and the physiopathological importance of apoM expression in colorectal tissues need further investigation.
Highlights
Apolipoprotein M was first identified and characterized in 1999 [1]
It has been well documented that human apolipoprotein M (apoM) is exclusively expressed in the hepatocytes in liver and tubular epithelial cell in kidney, and small amounts were found in fetal liver and fetal kidney in most investigations [2]
Immunohistochemical staining of apoM in normal mucosa, inflammatory mucosa, polyp tissues and cancer tissues As shown in the figures 1 and 2, apoM protein could be detected in all colorectal tissues
Summary
Apolipoprotein M (apoM) was first identified and characterized in 1999 [1]. It has been well documented that human apoM is exclusively expressed in the hepatocytes in liver and tubular epithelial cell in kidney, and small amounts were found in fetal liver and fetal kidney in most investigations [2]. It has been well documented that apolipoprotein M (apoM) is principally expressed in the liver and kidney. We found that there was weak apoM expression in other tissues or organs too, which could not be ignored. We examined apoM expression in human colorectal tissues including cancer tissues, cancer adjacent normal tissues, polyp tissues and normal mucosa as well as inflammatory mucosa
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