Lee SE, et al. J Breast Cancer. 2019 Nov;23:e37. https://doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2020.23.e37

ERG, a member of the ETS family of transcription factors, is a highly specific endothelial marker. We investigated whether the use of ERG immunostaining can help pathologists detect lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and decrease interobserver variability in LVI diagnosis. Fifteen cases of surgically resected colorectal cancers with hepatic metastasis were selected and the most representative sections for LVI detection were immunostained with ERG, CD31, and D2-40. Eight pathologists independently evaluated LVI status on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and the corresponding immunostained sections and then convened for a consensus meeting. The results were analyzed by kappa (κ) statistics. The average rate of LVI positivity was observed in 43% with H&E only, 10% with CD31, 29% with D2-40, and 16% with ERG. Agreement among pathologists was fair for H&E only (κ=0.27), D2-40 (κ=0.21), ERG (κ=0.23), and was moderate for CD31 (κ=0.55). Consensus revealed that ERG nuclear immunoreactivity showed better visual contrast of LVI detection than the other staining, with improved agreement and LVI detection rate (κ=0.65, LVI positivity rate 80%). The present study demonstrated a superiority with ERG immunostaining and indicated that ERG is a promising panendothelial marker that might help pathologists increase LVI detection and decrease interobserver variability in LVI diagnosis.

Lim SD, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2015 Aug;30(8):1068-1077. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2015.30.8.1068

Jang MH, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2017 Jan;32(1):38-46. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.1.38

Background: We determined the differently expressed protein profiles and their functions in bladder cancer tissues with the aim of identifying possible target proteins and underlying molecular mechanisms for taking part in their progression. Methods: We examined the expression of proteins by proteomic analysis and western blot in normal urothelium, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers (NMIBCs), and muscle-invasive bladder cancers (MIBCs). The function of cofilin was analyzed using T24 human bladder cancer cells. Results: The expression levels of 12 proteins were altered between bladder cancers and normal bladder tissues. Of these proteins, 14-3-3σ was upregulated in both NMIBCs and MIBCs compared with controls. On the other hand, myosin regulatory light chain 2, galectin-1, lipid-binding AI, annexin V, transthyretin, CARD-inhibitor of NF-κB-activating ligand, and actin prepeptide were downregulated in cancer samples. Cofilin, an actin-depolymerizing factor, was prominent in both NMIBCs and MIBCs compared with normal bladder tissues. Furthermore, we confirmed that cofilin phosphorylation was more prominent in MIBCs than in NMIBCs using immunoblotting and immunohistochemcal analyses. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) increased the phosphorylation of cofilin and elevated the migration in T24 cells. Knockdown of cofilin expression with small interfering RNA attenuated the T24 cell migration in response to EGF. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the increased expression and phosphorylation of cofilin might play a role in the occurrence and invasiveness of bladder cancer. We suspected that changes in cofilin expression may participate in the progression of the bladder cancer.

Min KW, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2014 Jul;29(7):934-940. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2014.29.7.934