Upregulation of APE/ref-1 in recurrence stage I, non small cell lung cancer

• Published in: Asian cardiovascular & thoracic annals 2012-02, Vol.20 (1), p.36-41
• Main Authors: Kang, Min-Woong, Kang, Shin Kwang, Choi, Songyi, Lee, Choong Sik, Jeon, Byeong Hwa, Lim, Seung Pyung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - enzymology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Cell Nucleus - enzymology; Cytoplasm - enzymology; DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase - metabolism; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - enzymology; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - enzymology; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - pathology; Oxidative Stress; Up-Regulation
• ISSN: 0218-4923; 1816-5370
• DOI: 10.1177/0218492311432800

Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related death, still lacks reliable biomarkers. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/Ref-1 is a multifunctional protein involved in the base excision repair of DNA damaged by oxidative stress or alkylating compounds, as well as in the regulation of multiple transcription factors. To validate apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/Ref-1 as a biomarker for prediction of lung cancer recurrence, we studied 42 patients who received curative resection and mediastinal lymph node dissection for stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. They were divided into 2 groups based on recurrence, and compared by immunohistochemistry staining of paraffin-embedded tissues and Western blot analysis. Immunohistochemical staining showed a significant difference between the cytoplasm and nucleus in patients who had a recurrence compared to those with nonrecurrent adenocarcinoma. In Western blot analysis, the recurrent adenocarcinoma group showed increased expression of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/Ref-1 in cytoplasm, nucleus, and in total. This indicates that apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/Ref-1 is unregulated in recurrent stage I adenocarcinoma. For clinical application as a prognostic marker for non-small-cell lung cancer, further investigation into the role of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/Ref-1 in carcinogenesis is needed in an expanded prospective study.