The Expression of Claudin-1, Claudin-2, Claudin-3, and Claudin-4 in Gastric Cancer Tissue

Jung, Hun; Jun, Kyong Hwa; Jung, Ji Han; Chin, Hyung Min; Park, Woo Bae

doi:10.1016/j.jss.2010.02.010

« Previous Next »Journal of Surgical Research
Volume 167, Issue 2 , Pages e185-e191, 15 May 2011

The Expression of Claudin-1, Claudin-2, Claudin-3, and Claudin-4 in Gastric Cancer Tissue

Hun Jung, M.D.
- Department of Surgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
Kyong Hwa Jun, M.D., Ph.D.
- Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea
- To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed at Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Ji-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 442-723 Republic of Korea.
Ji Han Jung, M.D., Ph.D.
- Department of Pathology, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea
Hyung Min Chin, M.D., Ph.D.
- Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea
Woo Bae Park, M.D., Ph.D.
- Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea

Received 31 December 2009 published online 08 March 2010.

Background

The claudins (CLDNs) are a family of functional tight junction proteins, and are involved with the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The claudin proteins have a significant influence on the biological behavior of tumor progression in several types of cancers. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression pattern of claudin-1, claudin-2, claudin-3, and claudin-4 in gastric cancer tissue.

Materials and Methods

Tissue was obtained from surgically resected specimens of 72 patients who were diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma at a single institution. The expressions of claudin-1, claudin-2, claudin-3, and claudin-4 were determined by immunohistochemical staining with the ABC method.

Results

Claudin-2 demonstrated the highest expression rate (73.6%) and claudin-4 demonstrated the lowest expression rate (44.4%). The expression of claudin-1 was significantly lower in cases of intestinal type adenocarcinoma based on the Lauren classification. The expressions of claudin-3 and claudin-4 were significantly lower in cases with positive lymphatic invasion. The expression of claudin-3 was significantly lower in cases with an advanced T-stage (T3 and T4). The expression of claudin-3 showed significantly positive correlations with the expression of the other claudin proteins. In survival analysis, the expression of claudin-4 was related to good overall survival rate with significance (P = 0.046).

Conclusion

We suggest that claudin-3 and claudin-4 represent useful molecular markers for gastric cancer. Claudin-3 and claudin-4 would be the most important proteins related to the lymphatic invasion process, and claudin-4 would be useful with prognostic marker based on our results. Further investigations with a greater number of subjects are required to identify the action mechanism of claudin in gastric cancer.

Key Words: gastric cancer, claudin-1, claudin-2, claudin-3, claudin-4