ERM/ETV5 and RUNX1/AML1 expression in endometrioid adenocarcinomas of endometrium and association with neoplastic progression

Abstract

The majority of endometrioid endometrial carcinomas (EE C) is diagnosed at stage I. Among these, 30% present myometrial invasion (stage IB), which is associated with tumor spread and relapse after primary treatment. Although an increased expression of RUNX1/AML1 and ERM/ETV5 in EE C have been suggested to be associated with early events of myometrial infiltration, there is no data regarding its expression along the evolution of EE C and possible associations with other clinicopathological parameters. Therefore, ERM/ETV5 and RUNX1/AML1 protein and gene expression profiles were assessed in different EE C stages to evaluate their role in endometrial carcinogenesis. RUNX1/AML1 and ERM/ETV5 proteins were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 219 formalin fixed paraffin embedded endometrioid tumors and in 12 normal atrophic and proliferative endometrium samples. RUNX1/AML1 and ERM/ETV5 genes expression were analyzed by RT-qPCR. RUNX1/AML1 and ERM/ETV5 expression were decreased with increasing EE C stage, with a positive correlation between protein and gene expression for ERM/ETV5, but not for RUNX1/AML1. Both proteins were present in the nucleus of the tumor cells, whereas RUNX1/AML1, but not ERM/ETV5, was expressed in 7 out of 12 normal endometrial samples, with its expression being restricted to the cytoplasm of the positive cells. We concluded that there is a higher expression of ERM/ETV5 in early stages of EE C, whereas there seems to be a RUNX1/AML1 translocation from cytoplasm to nucleus in EE C neoplastic transformation. © 2014 Landes Bioscience.