Expression of HuR and Cyclooxygenase-2 in Nodular Fasciitis and Low-Grade Sarcoma: An Immunohistochemical Study.
10.4132/KoreanJPathol.2014.48.4.270
- Author:
Hyun Jin SON
1
;
Tae Hwa BAEK
;
Seung Yun LEE
;
Joo Heon KIM
;
Dong Wook KANG
;
Hye Kyung LEE
;
Mee Ja PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Pathology, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea. shjpathol@eulji.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Nodular fasciitis;
Sarcoma;
Cyclooxygenase 2;
HuR;
Immunohistochemistry
- MeSH:
Cyclooxygenase 2*;
Cytoplasm;
Fasciitis*;
Immunohistochemistry;
RNA, Messenger;
Sarcoma*
- From:Korean Journal of Pathology
2014;48(4):270-275
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Nodular fasciitis is the most common reactive mesenchymal lesion to be misidentified as a type of sarcoma. HuR is an mRNA-binding protein that can stabilize cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA leading to COX-2 overexpression. The aim of this study is a comparison of the expressions of COX-2 and HuR and the relationships between their expressions and the clinicopathological parameters in nodular fasciitis and low-grade sarcoma. METHODS: We measured the expression of HuR and COX-2 in 21 cases of nodular fasciitis and 37 cases of low-grade sarcoma using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The frequency of cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for HuR was 5 of 21 cases of nodular fasciitis (23.8%) and 23 of 37 cases of low-grade sarcoma (62.1%) (p=.013). COX-2 expression was moderate or strong in nodular fasciitis (12/21, 57.1%) and in low-grade sarcoma (29/37, 78.4%) (p=.034). In addition, a significant difference existed between these two entities in terms of the relationship between moderate or strong COX-2 expression and HuR cytoplasmic immunoreactivity (p=.009). Moderate or strong COX-2 immunoreactivity correlated with nuclear (p=.016) or cytoplasmic HuR (p=.024) expression in low-grade sarcoma but not in nodular fasciitis. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that HuR and COX-2 expression may be useful to differentiate nodular fasciitis from low-grade sarcoma.
