The cadherin switch assessment in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of urothelial bladder carcinomas

Vol. 57 No. 3, 2016

ROMANIAN JOURNAL of MORPHOLOGY and EMBRYOLOGY

Andrei Ioan Drocas, Paul Ioan Tomescu, George Mitroi, Petru Octavian Dragoescu, Claudiu Margaritescu, Alex Emilian Stepan, Valeriu Surlin, Stefania Craitoiu, Ileana Drocas, Anca Marilena Ungureanu, Alice Elena Gaman, Adriana Turculeanu, Cristiana Eugenia Simionescu

Introduction: The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process is a complex molecular mechanism that is involved in the acquisition of an aggressive, invasive and metastatic phenotype by carcinomas. The cadherin switch consists in the alteration of E-cadherin and N-cadherin expression and is specific for the EMT process. Materials and Methods: This study included 35 cases of primitive urothelial carcinomas investigated in relation with clinicopathological prognostic parameters and expression of E- and N-cadherins in the advancing edge and intratumoral compartments. Results: In both compartments, the immunoexpression of E-cadherin decreased, while that of N-cadherin increased in high grade, deeply invasive, or those cases with lymph node metastases and advanced stages carcinomas, with a negative linear correlation observed between their expression percentage values. In this study, it was observed the presence of cadherin switch

Corresponding author: Alex Emilian Stepan, Lecturer, MD, PhD; e-mail: astepan76@yahoo.com

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