Expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase in premalignant esophageal squamous dysplasia / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTRT) and malignant transformation of esophageal dysplasia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Telomerase activity and hTRT expression in esophageal dysplasia (n = 47), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 29) and normal esophagus (n = 11) were detected by telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) and in situ hybridization, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Telomerase activity was detected in none of the 11 cases of normal esophageal tissues (0%) but in 21 of 47 cases (44.7%) of dysplasia, and in 25 of 29 cases (86.2%) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. There were statistically significant differences among the telomerase activity in normal esophagus, esophageal dysplasia, and in squamous cell carcinoma (chi(2) = 5.89, P < 0.05; chi(2) = 11.35, P < 0.01). hTRT mRNA was expressed in none of the 11 cases of normal esophageal tissues (0%) but in 23 of 47 cases (48.9%) of dysplasia, and in 24 of 29 cases (82.8%) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. There were statistically significant differences among the expression of hTRT mRNA in normal esophagus, esophageal dysplasia, and in squamous cell carcinoma (chi(2) = 6.99, P < 0.01; chi(2) = 7.32, P < 0.01). Significant correlation was found between the telomerase activity and the expression of hTRT mRNA (chi(2) = 57.91, P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The mRNA expression of hTRT which paralleled to telomerase activity implied that there was a crucial role to play in regulating the activation of telomerase, and was closely related to the malignant transformation of esophageal dysplasia. hTRT might serve as a new, valuable biomarker to detect esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.</p>