Expression of cell division cycle 42 and its clinicopathological significance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To explore the expression of cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42) in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and investigate the association between Cdc42 and clinicopathological parameters. Methods The expression levels of Cdc42 mRNA and protein in ESCC and corresponding adjacent normal tissues were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( qRT-PCR), Western blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The correlations between Cdc42 expression and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. Results The expression of Cdc42 mRNA was significantly higher in ESCC tissues (0. 21 ± 0. 14 ) than that in corresponding controls (0. 16 ±0. 12) (t test,P ＜0. 05). The protein expression of Cdc42 was significantly higher in ESCC tissues (0. 83 ± 0. 35 ) than that in corresponding controls ( 0. 75 ± 0. 24). Immunohistochemistry revealed that 73.7% (129/175) of the ESCC samples had higher expression of Cdc42 protein than the corresponding controls[62. 9% (110/175) (χ2 test, P ＜ 0. 05 )]. Cdc42 expression level was correlated with age,lymphoid node metastasis and differentiation ( P all ＜ 0. 05 ), but not with the clinicopathological features,such as gender, ethnicity and macroscopical types (P ＞ 0. 05 ). Conclusion The higher expression of Cdc42 played a certain role in the carcinogenesis and metastasis of ESCC. Key words: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Cell cycle; Invasion; Metastasis