Subhankar Chakraborty1, Maneesh Jain, Aaron R Sasson, Surinder K Batra. 1. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 984525 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5870, USA +1 402 559 5455 ; +1 402 559 6650 ; sbatra@unmc.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mucins are high molecular mass glycoproteins whose role in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy is being increasingly recognized owing to their altered expression in a variety of carcinomas. MUC4, a membrane-bound mucin encoded by a gene located on chromosome locus 3q29, is aberrantly expressed in several cancers including those of the bile duct, breast, colon, esophagus, ovary, lung, prostate, stomach and pancreas. OBJECTIVE: This review considers the potential use of the MUC4 expression pattern in the diagnosis and prognosis of various cancers. RESULTS/ CONCLUSION: MUC4 expression is a specific marker of epithelial tumors and its expression correlates positively with the degree of differentiation in several cancers. Importantly, MUC4 has emerged as a specific marker of dysplasia, being expressed in the earliest dysplastic lesions preceding several malignancies, including lethal pancreatic cancer. The presence of MUC4-specific antibodies in the serum and of the transcript in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of cancer patients raises the possibility of it emerging as a new diagnostic biomarker for bedside application in high-risk individuals and those with established cancer.
BACKGROUND: Mucins are high molecular mass glycoproteins whose role in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy is being increasingly recognized owing to their altered expression in a variety of carcinomas. MUC4, a membrane-bound mucin encoded by a gene located on chromosome locus 3q29, is aberrantly expressed in several cancers including those of the bile duct, breast, colon, esophagus, ovary, lung, prostate, stomach and pancreas. OBJECTIVE: This review considers the potential use of the MUC4 expression pattern in the diagnosis and prognosis of various cancers. RESULTS/ CONCLUSION:MUC4 expression is a specific marker of epithelial tumors and its expression correlates positively with the degree of differentiation in several cancers. Importantly, MUC4 has emerged as a specific marker of dysplasia, being expressed in the earliest dysplastic lesions preceding several malignancies, including lethal pancreatic cancer. The presence of MUC4-specific antibodies in the serum and of the transcript in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of cancerpatients raises the possibility of it emerging as a new diagnostic biomarker for bedside application in high-risk individuals and those with established cancer.
Authors: Alexey V Krasnoslobodtsev; María P Torres; Sukhwinder Kaur; Ivan V Vlassiouk; Robert J Lipert; Maneesh Jain; Surinder K Batra; Yuri L Lyubchenko Journal: Nanomedicine Date: 2014-09-06 Impact factor: 5.307