Immunohistochemical analysis of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH10 in lung cancer: a useful tool for diagnosis and therapy

Our plain-English summary of Immunohistochemical analysis of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH10 in lung cancer: a useful tool for diagnosis and therapy, by I. Perrotta, L. Bruno, L. Maltese, et al (The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, 2012).

The study

• Authors: I. Perrotta, L. Bruno, L. Maltese, E. Russo, A. Donato, G. Donato
• Journal: The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry
• Published: 2012;60(5):359-65
• Cited by: 36 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

The ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UbcH10) plays important roles in the regulation of cell cycle progression. Recently, UbcH10 expression has been demonstrated in several human and experimental tumors, and proteasome inhibitors have been tested in trials for pulmonary neoplasms; however, the underlying mechanisms as well as the clinicopathological relevance of UbcH10 in the genesis and progression of lung cancer remain largely unknown. Therefore, the authors evaluated the expression of UbcH10 in human lung cancer and evaluated its possible diagnostic and prognostic use. They found that most cases of lung adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell and small cell carcinoma were positive for UbcH10. The expression levels of UbcH10 progressively increased with decreasing degree of tumor differentiation. There was a statistically significant difference of UbcH10 positivity between grade I/III of lung adenocarcinoma (p=0.013) and squamous cell carcinoma (p=0.002). No significant differences were found between histological types (p=0.072). In the case of cell blocks prepared from pleural effusions, inflammatory and reactive mesothelial elements did not show appreciable UbcH10 expression, whereas neoplastic cells exhibited clear UbcH10 positivity. The results suggest that UbcH10 might represent a new and promising diagnostic and prognostic marker in both histologic and cytologic specimens of lung cancer.

In plain English

This laboratory study looked back at stored samples to see whether lung cancers contain UbcH10, a protein involved in cell division. The authors stained tissue from 140 lung cancer patients diagnosed at the University of Catanzaro, Italy, from 2006 to 2011. They also stained five normal lungs taken at autopsy and 47 samples of fluid from around the lungs: 15 reactive (non-cancer), 14 from patients with malignant mesothelioma and 18 from patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Asbestos exposure was not studied. The normal lungs showed no UbcH10, while all cancer types and grades did. Less differentiated tumors stained more strongly. Strong staining was seen in 4 of 18 grade I and 9 of 19 grade III adenocarcinomas, and in 4 of 15 grade I and 11 of 17 grade III squamous cell carcinomas. Differences between grades were statistically significant, but differences between cancer types were not. In the fluid samples, reactive mesothelial cells and lymphocytes showed no appreciable staining, while lung adenocarcinoma cells and neoplastic mesothelial cells did. The authors suggested UbcH10 might be used in a marker panel to tell neoplastic mesothelial cells from benign reactive ones.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Retrospective laboratory (immunohistochemistry) study of archived biopsy, surgical and pleural-fluid cell block specimens
• Who was studied: Archived specimens from the Department of Pathology, University of Catanzaro, Italy, diagnosed 2006 to 2011. These were tissue from 140 lung cancer patients (94 men, 46 women): 57 adenocarcinomas, 54 squamous cell carcinomas, 8 large cell carcinomas and 21 small cell neuroendocrine tumors. Also included were 5 normal lungs from autopsy and 47 pleural effusion cell blocks (15 reactive, 14 from malignant mesothelioma patients, 18 from primary lung adenocarcinoma patients).
• Exposure: No asbestos or other environmental or occupational exposure was studied. The study measured staining for the protein UbcH10 in tumor tissue and pleural fluid cells.
• Main results:
  • No UbcH10 was found in the 5 normal lung tissues. UbcH10 was found in all types and grades of lung cancer examined.
  • Adenocarcinoma: strong staining was seen in 4 of 18 grade I cases (22.2%) and in 9 of 19 grade III cases (47.4%).
  • Squamous cell carcinoma: strong staining was seen in 4 of 15 grade I cases (26.7%).
  • Squamous cell carcinoma: strong staining was seen in 11 of 17 grade III cases (64.7%).
  • Differences in UbcH10 staining between tumor grades were statistically significant for adenocarcinoma (p=0.013) and for squamous cell carcinoma (p=0.002).
  • No significant difference was found among the main types of lung cancer.
  • In pleural fluid cell blocks, reactive mesothelial cells and lymphocytes did not show appreciable UbcH10 staining, while lung adenocarcinoma cells and neoplastic mesothelial cells showed a clear nuclear signal. No case counts were given for this finding.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors suggested that, in cytopathology, UbcH10 might be used as part of a tumor marker panel to distinguish neoplastic mesothelial cells from benign, reactive mesothelial cells. They also proposed it as a promising diagnostic marker for lung cancer.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Neoplasm, Lung Adenocarcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Carcinoma, Cell Block, Pleural Effusion.

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