1.Cyclooxygenase 2 in Gastric Carcinoma Is Expressed in Doublecortin- and CaM Kinase-Like-1-Positive Tuft Cells.
Hiroyuki MUTOH ; Miho SASHIKAWA ; Hirotsugu SAKAMOTO ; Tomoko TATENO
Gut and Liver 2014;8(5):508-518
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Doublecortin and CaM kinase-like-1 (DCAMKL1) is a marker of stem cells expressed predominantly in the crypt base in the intestine. However, DCAMKL1-positive cells have been shown to be differentiated tuft cells rather than quiescent progenitors. Tuft cells are the only epithelial cells that express cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the normal intestinal epithelium. We previously generated Cdx2-transgenic mice as model mice for intestinal metaplasia and gastric carcinoma. In the current study, we investigated the association between COX-2 and DCAMKL1 in gastric carcinoma. METHODS: We examined the association between COX-2 and DCAMKL1 expression in gastric carcinomas in clinical samples (early gastric well-differentiated adenocarcinoma) and Cdx2-transgenic mice; and the DCAMKL1-transgenic mouse stomach using immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The COX-2-expressing cells were scattered, not diffusely expressed, in gastric carcinomas from humans and Cdx2-transgenic mice. DCAMKL1-positive cells were also scattered in the gastric carcinomas, indicating that tuft cells could still be present in gastric carcinoma. COX-2 was expressed in DCAMKL1-positive tuft cells in Cdx2- and DCAMKL1-transgenic mouse stomachs, whereas the Sox9 transcription factor was ubiquitously expressed in gastric carcinomas, including COX-2-positive cells. CONCLUSIONS: COX-2 is expressed in DCAMKL1-expressing quiescent tuft cells in gastric carcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma/metabolism
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Animals
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Cyclooxygenase 2/genetics/*metabolism
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Epithelial Cells/metabolism
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Gastric Mucosa/metabolism
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Humans
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Intestinal Mucosa/cytology/*enzymology/metabolism
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Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/genetics/*metabolism
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Mice
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Mice, Transgenic
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Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics/*metabolism
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SOX9 Transcription Factor/genetics/metabolism
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Stomach Neoplasms/*enzymology/genetics