E-Cadherin Expression and p53 Alterations in Soft Tissue Sarcomas: A Possible Role in Epithelial Differentiation.
- Author:
Jin Young YOO
1
;
Seok Jin KANG
;
Woong Shick AHN
;
Byung Kee KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Soft tissue sarcoma;
E-Cadherin;
p53 gene;
Epithelial differentiation
- MeSH:
Cadherins*;
Exons;
Genes, p53;
Polymerase Chain Reaction;
Sarcoma*;
Sequence Analysis
- From:Cancer Research and Treatment
2001;33(4):343-349
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: We investigated the expressions of E- Cadherin and p53 in soft tissue tumors to determine their significance in sarcoma development and/or progression and to assess their potential correlation with epithelial features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 79 soft tissue sarcomas, including 10 tumors comprising epithelial components, were studied immunohistochemically in paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Further analysis was performed on 61 tumors by the application of a polymerase chain reaction technique and a direct sequence analysis procedure applied to exons 5 through 8 in the p53 gene. RESULTS: E-Cadherin was expressed at the cell-cell boundaries in 8 (10%) tumors: 5 of grade 2 and 3 of grade 3. Of these, six (being 60% of the total of 10 tumors containing epithelial elements) contained and two did not contain histologic evidence of epithelial differentiation. Overexpression of p53 was detected in 26 (33%) samples, 7 of which demonstrated mutations in the p53 gene. No association was established between E-Cadherin immunoreactivities and p53 abnormalities. Tumor grade was found to be strongly correlated with p53 alterations (p=0.01) but not with E-Cadherin expression (p=0.09). CONCLUSION: These data confirm a role for altered p53 in the pathogenesis of soft tissue sarcomas and suggest a possible role for E-Cadherin in the maintenance of epithelial architecture in these tumors regardless of p53 status.
