During embryonic development or wound repair, epithelial cells that line cavities within the body often undergo a change of shape and function in a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). On occasion, this transition can result in the conversion of epithelial cells to tumor cells.
Richard Bates and colleagues, interested in determining what factors disrupt normal EMT and drive the development of tumor cells, examined the EMT process in colon carcinoma cells. They found that EMT involves activation of the protein integrin known as ávâ6 and this protein enhances the tumor-generating properties of these cells. Furthermore, analysis of almost 500 human colorectal carcinoma samples revealed that elevated levels of ávâ6 expression were associated with a significantly reduced survival time of patients in comparison with tumors that express little or low levels of this molecule.
The results define ávâ6 expression as an independent prognostic marker for colorectal cancer and, most significantly, one that is predictive of the outcome of early-stage disease.
TITLE: Transcriptional activation of integrin b6 during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition defines a novel prognostic indicator of aggressive colon carcinoma
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Richard C. Bates
Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Phone: 617-667-2816; Fax: 617-975-5531; E-mail: rbates@caregroup.harvard.edu.
View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/press/23183.pdf
From 5:00PM USA EST Thursday January 20, 2005 a PDF of this article will be available at: http://www.jci.org/papbyrecent.shtml
Journal
Journal of Clinical Investigation