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. 2012 Nov;60(11):822-31.
doi: 10.1369/0022155412460678. Epub 2012 Aug 20.

Increased expression and aberrant localization of mucin 13 in metastatic colon cancer

Brij K Gupta  1 , Diane M Maher, Mara C Ebeling, Vasudha Sundram, Michael D Koch, Douglas W Lynch, Teresa Bohlmeyer, Akira Watanabe, Hiroyuki Aburatani, Susan E Puumala, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C Chauhan
Affiliations

Increased expression and aberrant localization of mucin 13 in metastatic colon cancer

Brij K Gupta et al. J Histochem Cytochem. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

MUC13 is a newly identified transmembrane mucin. Although MUC13 is known to be overexpressed in ovarian and gastric cancers, limited information is available regarding the expression of MUC13 in metastatic colon cancer. Herein, we investigated the expression profile of MUC13 in colon cancer using a novel anti-MUC13 monoclonal antibody (MAb, clone ppz0020) by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. A cohort of colon cancer samples and tissue microarrays containing adjacent normal, non-metastatic colon cancer, metastatic colon cancer, and liver metastasis tissues was used in this study to investigate the expression pattern of MUC13. IHC analysis revealed significantly higher (p<0.001) MUC13 expression in non-metastatic colon cancer samples compared with faint or very low expression in adjacent normal tissues. Interestingly, metastatic colon cancer and liver metastasis tissue samples demonstrated significantly (p<0.05) higher cytoplasmic and nuclear MUC13 expression compared with non-metastatic colon cancer and adjacent normal colon samples. Moreover, cytoplasmic and nuclear MUC13 expression correlated with larger and poorly differentiated tumors. Four of six tested colon cancer cell lines also expressed MUC13 at RNA and protein levels. These studies demonstrate a significant increase in MUC13 expression in metastatic colon cancer and suggest a correlation between aberrant MUC13 localization (cytoplasmic and nuclear expression) and metastatic colon cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A–D) MUC13 is overexpressed in colon cancer: MUC13 expression (brown color, representative areas indicated by the black arrows) is detected in (A) adjacent normal, (B) well-differentiated, (C) moderately differentiated, and (D) poorly differentiated colon cancer. Scale bars = 20 µm.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A–C) MUC13 is overexpressed in metastatic colon cancer and liver metastasis: MUC13 expression (brown color, representative areas indicated by the black arrows) is shown in adjacent normal (A), metastatic colon cancer (B), and liver metastasis (C). Scale bars = 20 µm.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Comparative study of expression and localization of MUC13 in non-metastatic colon cancer and metastatic colon cancer with liver metastasis. (A–F) MUC13 expression and localization pattern: Membranous, cytoplasmic, and nuclear MUC13 localization is shown by black arrow, arrowhead, and a red arrow, respectively. *p<0.05. (G) Distribution of membranous, cytoplasmic, and nuclear MUC13 expression in tissues of non-metastatic colon and metastatic colon cancer with liver metastasis. Scale bars = 20 µm.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
MUC13 expression in colon cancer cell lines. (A) End-point PCR analysis (NTC, non-template control; NRT, no reverse transcriptase control), (B) quantitative real-time PCR analysis (RQ, relative quantity), and (C) immunofluorescence confocal microscopy analysis. Scale bars = 20 µm.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
A summarized schematic representation of expression and localization of MUC13 with various stages of colon cancer progression and metastasis. The shaded area represents high MUC13 expression and its localization in the membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus in advanced stage colon cancer (metastatic colon cancer and liver metastasis).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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