Abstract
Purpose
Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is overexpressed in many cancer and is emerging as a potential therapeutic target. Yet data on the expression of eIF4E in endometrial cancer are lacking.
Methods
Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of eIF4E in 62 endometrial cancer surgical specimens. We subsequently evaluated whether inhibition of eIF4E by siRNA would have an impact on cell growth in endometrial cancer cell lines, using the MTT cell proliferation assay.
Results
According to a chosen cutoff value, 36 (58.1%) of 62 patient specimens scored as eIF4E positive. The positivity of eIF4E was significantly more frequent in tumors extending outside the uterus (stage III/IV vs. stage I/II, P = 0.027). Lastly, downregulation of eIF4E by siRNA reduced the growth of HEC-1A cells significantly but had a somewhat weaker effect in Ishikawa cells (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
Expressions of eIF4E correlated with prognosis of endometrial adenocarcinomas. Our results suggest that eIF4E might be a promising therapeutic target in endometrial cancer.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (A084118).
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We declare that we have no conflicts of interest.
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Chel Hun Choi and Ji-Soo Lee contributed equally to this paper.
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Choi, C.H., Lee, JS., Kim, S.R. et al. Direct inhibition of eIF4E reduced cell growth in endometrial adenocarcinoma. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 137, 463–469 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-010-0902-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-010-0902-z