Expression of fatty acid synthase in lung cancer and its clinical significance
- Author:
Zheng RUAN
1
Author Information
1. Department of Thoracic Surgery
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Diagnosis;
Fatty acid synthase;
Immunohistochemistry;
Lung neoplasms;
Reverse transcription polymerase chain reation
- From:
Tumor
2007;27(7):557-561
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective: Much evidences demonstrate that the fatty acid synthase (FAS) plays an important role in the intiation and progression of various cancers and signs of poor prognosis. But it is not clear whether there is relationship between FAS protein and mRNA expression and lung cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the expressions of FAS protein and mRNA in lung cancer and to analyze its association with clinicopathological features. Methods: Immunohistochemical En Vision™ staining and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed to determine the protein and mRNA expressions of FAS in 67 cases with lung cancer and compared with para-cancerous and normal tissues. Results: The expressions of FAS protein was located in cell cytoplasm. The immunohistochemical EnVisionTM staining showed that the positive rate of FAS protein was 41.8% (28/67)in lung cancer tissue, which was significantly higher than para-cancerous tissue (19.5%, 8/41) and normal tissue(6.25%, 2/32) (P < 0.01). The expressions of FAS mRNA was positive in 67.2% (45/67) of lung cancer tissue, which was also significantly higher than para-cancerous tissue (34.1%, 14/41) and normal tissue (25.0%, 8/32) (P < 0.01). The relative level of FAS mRNA in lung cancer tissues was significantly higher than para-cancerous tissue and normal tissue (0.957 ± 0.326 vs 0. 475 ± 0. 167 and 0.261 ± 0.050, P < 0.01). The expressions of FAS protein and mRNA significantly correlated with the stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01), but had no significant correlation with age, sex, pathological type, and cell differentiation degree. Conclusion: FAS protein and mRNA are over expressed and hyperactivated in lung cancer indicating abnormal fatty acid metabolism during the initiation and development of cancer. FAS can be considered as a valuable marker for diagnosis of lung cancer or serves as a new target for lung cancer therapy.
