ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: E-cadherin is the prime mediator of cell-cell adhesion in epithelial cells and its loss may be important in tumor spread. The present study was aimed to find the role of E-cadherin in cervical carcinogenesis, and to assess the clinical value of serum soluble E-cadherin in diagnosing or monitoring the progression of cervical cancer. METHODS: The subjects of this study included the serums and paraffin blocks of cervix in women with normal cervix(16 cases), and patients with moderate dysplasia(4 cases), severe dysplasia(10 cases), CIS(8 cases), keratinizing cervical carcinoma(5 cases), and nonkeratinizing cervical carcinoma(8 cases). For in vitro assay, cervical cancer cell lines, e.g. C-33A, CaSki, SiHa and HeLa cell lines were used. The serum levels of E-cadherin in women were measured by enzyme immunoassay, Every paraffin block of cervix was stained for E-cadherin by immunohistochemical staining. After culture of 4 cervical cancer cell lines, immunocytochemical staing for E-cadherin was tried by raft cultured cell lined. RESULTS: There was no differences in the serum level of E-cadherin among the women who had the normal cervix, patients with moderate dysplasia, patients with severe dysplasia, patients with CIS of cervix, and patients with keratinzing cervical carcinoma and nonkeratinizing cervical carcinoma. Loss of E-cadherin expression was closely related with the grade of dysplasia of cervix and the differentiation of cervical cancer(p < 0.05). E-cadherin was strongly expressed in the basal layer and suprabasal layer of the normal cervix, but its expression was shown in the other tissue layers of dysplasia of cervix(p < 0.05). The cytoplasmic E-cadherin expression was related to membranous expression and it was correlated with the grade of dysplasia of cervix and the defferentiation of cervix cancer(p < 0.001). In raft culture of 4 cervical cancer cell lines, all cancer cell lines except CaSki cell line were well grown at the air-liquid interface. There was negative E-cadherin expression in raft cultured cell lines. CONCLUSION: It is considered that first, E-cadherin has a role in cervical carcinogenesis, its loss is related with the grade of dysplasia of cervix and the differentiation of cervical cancer. However measuring soluble E-cadherin level may not reflect the progression of cervical cancer accurately.