In silico assessment of EpCAM transcriptional expression and determination of the prognostic biomarker for human lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC)

Abstract

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a transmembrane glycoprotein which is involved in cell signaling, proliferation, maturation, and movement, all of which are crucial for the proper development of cells and tissues. Cleavage of the EpCAM protein leads to the up-regulation of c-myc, e-fabp, and cyclins A and E which promote tumorigenesis. EpCAM can act as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for different types of cancers as it is also found to be expressed in epithelia and epithelial-derived neoplasms. Hence, we aimed to analyze the EpCAM gene expression and any associated feedback in the patients of two major types of lung cancer (LC) i.e., lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), based on the publicly available online databases. In this study, server-based gene expression analysis represents the up-regulation of EpCAM in both LUAD and LUSC subtypes as compared to the corresponding normal tissues. Besides, the histological sections revealed the over-expression of EpCAM protein in cancerous tissues by depicting strong staining signals. Furthermore, mutation analysis suggested missense as the predominant type of mutation both in LUAD and LUSC in the EpCAM gene. A significant correlation (P-value < 0.05) between the higher EpCAM expression and lower patient survival was also found in this study. Finally, the co-expressed genes were identified with their ontological features and signaling pathways associated in LC development. The overall study suggests EpCAM to be a significant biomarker for human LC prognosis.

Identification of a set of genes potentially responsible for resistance to ferroptosis in lung adenocarcinoma cancer stem cells

“…For the immunophenotypic characterization of the primary cultures, the expression levels of some specific markers were analysed by flow cytometry. In particular: epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), expressed in epithelial cells and correlated with tumorigenesis [ 17 ]; Cytokeratin 7 (CK7), normally produced by lung epithelial cells and commonly used as a marker for diagnosis of lung tumors [ 18 ]; CD90 (alias Thymus cell antigen 1), a well-known marker of fibroblast [ 19 , 20 ]; CD45, a ubiquitous cell surface marker of nucleated hematopoietic cells [ 21 ]. The LUAD primary cell cultures isolated exhibited a marked positivity for EpCAM and CK7/8 markers, assuring that they were constituted by cancer cells of epithelial origin with the same phenotypic features of the original tumor, as well as negligible expression of CD90 and CD45 markers, thus excluding the presence of fibroblasts and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (Table 1 ).…”

In vitro vascularized immunocompetent patient-derived model to test cancer therapies

“…The mRNA for epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM) 43 was upregulated on primary tumoral cells and vascularized PDTs ( Figure 3 A). Other common genes of tumor development were also maintained during the PDT formation process, such as CEACAM5 and CEACAM6.…”

Plasma Extracellular Vesicle Long RNA in Diagnosis and Prediction in Small Cell Lung Cancer

“…Additionally, several studies determined that UCHL1 may be a prognostic marker and therapeutic target in NSCLC patients [ 29 , 30 ]. In the field of EPCAM, many studies indicate that it can act as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for different types of cancers, including lung cancer [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Moin AT et al suggested EPCAM to be a significant biomarker for human lung cancer prognosis [ 31 ].…”

“…In the field of EPCAM, many studies indicate that it can act as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for different types of cancers, including lung cancer [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Moin AT et al suggested EPCAM to be a significant biomarker for human lung cancer prognosis [ 31 ]. Several studies verified that STMN1 was associated with worse survival rates for lung cancer patients [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”