calpain and Adenocarcinoma--Mucinous

Expression of members of the calpain system are associated with clinical outcome of patients with, amongst others, breast and ovarian cancers, with calpain-2 expression in ovarian cancer being implicated in chemo-resistance and survival. This study aimed, using a large patient cohort and in vitro models, to verify its importance and further investigate the role in ovarian cancer chemoresponse.. Calpain-1, calpain-2, calpain-4 and calpastatin expression were evaluated in primary ovarian carcinomas (n = 575) by immunohistochemistry. Protein expression was assessed, via western blotting, in five ovarian cancer cell lines with various sensitivities towards cisplatin/carboplatin. In vitro calpain activity was inhibited by calpeptin treatment to assess changes in platinum sensitivity by proliferation assay, with expression of genes associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition being examined by RT. The current study confirmed previous data that high calpain-2 expression is associated with poor overall survival (P = 0.026) and that calpain-1 was not associated with overall survival or progression-free survival. Low expression of calpastatin (P = 0.010) and calpain-4 (P = 0.003) were also associated with adverse survival. Such prognostic associations do not seem to be linked with altered tumour sensitivity towards platinum-based chemotherapy. Interestingly, low calpain-1 expression was more frequent in patients with confined tumours (stage 1) (χ. The conventional calpains and calpastatin have been confirmed to play an important role in ovarian cancer; however, the precise mechanisms whereby they exert effects remain to be elucidated.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Biomarkers, Tumor; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Calpain; Cell Proliferation; Cohort Studies; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous; Endometrial Neoplasms; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Middle Aged; Ovarian Neoplasms; Prognosis; Survival Rate; Tumor Cells, Cultured