Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16(2), 3783-3803; doi:10.3390/ijms16023783
Expression of RCAS1 Correlates with Urothelial Bladder Cancer Malignancy
1
Department of Tumor Pathology and Pathomorphology, the Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Romanowska Street 2, Bydgoszcz 85-796, Poland
2
Department of Tumor Pathology and Pathomorphology, the Franciszek Łukaszczyk Oncology Centre, Romanowska Street 2, Bydgoszcz 85-796, Poland
3
Department of Urology, the Franciszek Łukaszczyk Oncology Centre, Romanowska Street 2, Bydgoszcz 85-796, Poland
4
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Tennessee HSC, 930 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
5
Department of Dermatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: William Cho
Received: 27 November 2014 / Accepted: 2 February 2015 / Published: 10 February 2015
(This article belongs to the Section Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics)
Abstract
RCAS1 is a protein that participates in regulation of the tumor microenvironment and its immune responses, all in order to evade the immune system. The aim of this study was to analyze RCAS1 expression in urothelial bladder cancer cells (and in fibroblasts and macrophages of the tumor stroma) and its relationship with the histological pattern of malignancy. Eighty-three postcystectomy patients were enrolled. We analyzed the histological maturity (grade), progress (pT stage), tissue invasion type (TIT), nonclassic differentiation number (NDN), and the ability to metastasize (pN). The expression of RCAS1 protein was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Indicators of histological malignancy were observed solely in association with the RCAS1 expression in cells in the border parts (BPs) of the tumor. Histological malignancy of the tumor, indicated by the pT and pN, and metastasis-free survival time, correlated significantly with RCAS1 expression in tumor neoplastic cells, whereas malignancy determined by grade, TIT, and NDN correlated with RCAS1 expression in fibroblasts and macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. These findings suggest that the increased RCAS1 expression depends on its cellular source and that RCAS1 expression itself is a component of various signaling pathways. The immune escape occurs within the tumor BPs, where the increase in the RCAS1 expression occurs within tumor cells and stromal cells in its microenvironment. We conclude that the histological pattern of tumor malignancy, indicated by grade, TIT, NDN, pT, and pN is a morphological indicator of immune escape. View Full-Text
Figure 1
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Jóźwicki, W.; Brożyna, A.A.; Siekiera, J.; Slominski, A.T. Expression of RCAS1 Correlates with Urothelial Bladder Cancer Malignancy. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, 3783-3803.
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