Regulation of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) by Serum Amyloid A 1 (SAA1) is dependent on integrin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)

Abstract

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) is the predominant type comprising more than 90% of esophageal cancer, which is a highly metastatic and fatal cancer, and is ranked the eighth in mortality rate in Hong Kong cancer patients (Hong Kong Cancer Registry, Hospital Authority, 2010). Using a functional complementation approach, SAA1 was identified as one of the tumor suppressor gene candidates. The SAA1 is an acute phase protein, which is highly expressed in response to inflammation by the liver. It is also present as a secretary protein in histologically normal human epithelial tissues. The expression of SAA1 was found to be down-regulated in ESCC. Interestingly, the gene expression of SAA1 and the mesenchymal marker N-cadherin was found to be inversely correlated in a panel of ESCC and the immortalized esophageal epithelial cell lines. Therefore, we want to determine whether SAA1 could regulate EMT in ESCC ...