Stem-cell-abundant proteins Nanog, Nucleostemin and Musashi1 are highly expressed in malignant cervical epithelial cells

Abstract

BackgroundNanog, nucleostemin (NS) and musashi1 (Msi1) are proteins that are highly expressed in undifferentiated embryonic stem (ES) cells and have been shown to be essential in maintaining the pluripotency and regulating the proliferation and asymmetric division of ES cells and several nervous system tumor cells. The roles of Nanog, NS and Msi1 in development and progression of cervical carcinoma have, until now, not been well documented.MethodsIn this study, expression of Nanog, NS and Msi1 was detected by immunohistochemistry analysis in 235 patients with various degrees of cervical epithelial lesions, including 49 with normal cervical epithelia, 31 with mild dysplasia (CIN I), 77 with moderate-severe dysplasia (CIN II-III) and 78 with squamous cervical carcinomas (SCCs). Associations with various clinical pathological prognostic variables were analyzed in 50 early-stage SCC patients.ResultsNanog, NS and Msi1 expression levels were significantly higher in SCC patients compared with CIN patients, and were higher in CIN patients compared with those with normal cervical epithelia. Nanog expression levels showed significantly differences according to different tumor sizes (P < 0.05), whereas there were no differences in NS and Msi1 expression levels according to different clinical pathological parameters.ConclusionOur findings indicate that Nanog, NS and Msi1 may be involved in carcinogenesis of the cervix and progression of cervical carcinoma.

The human pluripotency gene NANOG/NANOGP8 is expressed in gastric cancer and associated with tumor development

“…Following the exclusion of false-positive staining, we found that in certain cancer specimens, the localization of NANOG/NANOGP8 is not restricted to the nucleus but can also be observed in the cytoplasm. These results are similar to those found in breast carcinoma samples (8) and malignant cervical epithelial cells (15). It provides a hint that NANOG/NANOGP8 plays a more complex role(s) in cancer than anticipated.…”

“…It is well known that NANOG is highly and specifically expressed in ES cells (10,11) and human germ cell tumors (12)(13)(14). Recent studies indicated that NANOG is also highly expressed in certain somatic tumors, such as breast (5,8), prostate (6) and cervical cancer (15). Of note is that NANOG has 11 highly homologous pseudogenes (16), some of which are normally expressed in tumors (17)(18)(19)(20).…”

Association of differential β‐catenin expression with Oct‐4 and Nanog in oral squamous cell carcinoma and their correlation with clinicopathological factors and prognosis

“…In the present study, expression of Nanog was predominantly restricted to the nucleus in oral carcinoma and CAL27 cells. However, cytoplasmic staining was also found in some oral carcinoma cells as in cervical cancer [20]. These results suggest the need for investigating the specific function of Nanog based on its localization in oral cancer cells.…”

“…Recently, the expression of Nanog was found in several tumors including oral squamous cell carcinoma [18][19][20]3]. Interestingly, together with Oct-4, Nanog was found to induce cancer stem cell properties in lung adenocarcinoma [17].…”

“…In embryonic stem cells, Nanog is found to act parallel with Oct-4 [18]. Though Nanog was not fund in adult tissues, it was observed in several tumors including seminomas, breast cancer, cervical cancer and oral cancer [19,20,3].…”