Zhe Lu1, Yi Liu1, Junfeng Xu2, Hongping Yin1, Haiying Yuan3, Jinjing Gu1, Yan-Hua Chen4, Liyun Shi5, Dan Chen1, Bin Xie6. 1. School of Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 311121, China. 2. School of Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 311121, China. 3. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310000, China. 4. Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA. 5. School of Basic Medical Science, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210023, China. 6. School of Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 311121, China. Electronic address: xiebin@hznu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tight junction proteins are correlated with cancer development. As the pivotal proteins in epithelial cells, altered expression and distribution of different claudins have been reported in a wide variety of human malignancies. We have previously reported that claudin-7 was strongly expressed in benign bronchial epithelial cells at the cell-cell junction while expression of claudin-7 was either altered with discontinued weak expression or completely absent in lung cancers. Based on these results, we continued working on the expression pattern of claudin-7 and its relationship with lung cancer development. We herein proposed a new Digital Image Classification, Fragmentation index, Morphological analysis (DICFM) method for differentiating the normal lung tissues and lung cancer tissues based on the claudin-7 immunohistochemical staining. METHODS: Seventy-seven lung cancer samples were obtained from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University and claudin-7 immunohistochemical staining was performed. Based on C++ and Open Source Computer Vision Library (OpenCV, version 2.4.4), the DICFM processing module was developed. Intensity and fragmentation of claudin-7 expression, as well as the morphological parameters of nuclei were calculated. Evaluation of results was performed using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Agreement between these computational results and the results obtained by two pathologists was demonstrated. The intensity of claudin-7 expression was significantly decreased while the fragmentation was significantly increased in the lung cancer tissues compared to the normal lung tissues and the intensity was strongly positively associated with the differentiation of lung cancer cells. Moreover, the perimeters of the nuclei of lung cancer cells were significantly greater than that of the normal lung cells, while the parameters of area and circularity revealed no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our DICFM approach may be applied as an appropriate approach to quantify the immunohistochemical staining of claudin-7 on the cell membrane and claudin-7 may serve as a marker for identification of lung cancer.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tight junction proteins are correlated with cancer development. As the pivotal proteins in epithelial cells, altered expression and distribution of different claudins have been reported in a wide variety of humanmalignancies. We have previously reported that claudin-7 was strongly expressed in benign bronchial epithelial cells at the cell-cell junction while expression of claudin-7 was either altered with discontinued weak expression or completely absent in lung cancers. Based on these results, we continued working on the expression pattern of claudin-7 and its relationship with lung cancer development. We herein proposed a new Digital Image Classification, Fragmentation index, Morphological analysis (DICFM) method for differentiating the normal lung tissues and lung cancer tissues based on the claudin-7 immunohistochemical staining. METHODS: Seventy-seven lung cancer samples were obtained from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University and claudin-7 immunohistochemical staining was performed. Based on C++ and Open Source Computer Vision Library (OpenCV, version 2.4.4), the DICFM processing module was developed. Intensity and fragmentation of claudin-7 expression, as well as the morphological parameters of nuclei were calculated. Evaluation of results was performed using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Agreement between these computational results and the results obtained by two pathologists was demonstrated. The intensity of claudin-7 expression was significantly decreased while the fragmentation was significantly increased in the lung cancer tissues compared to the normal lung tissues and the intensity was strongly positively associated with the differentiation of lung cancer cells. Moreover, the perimeters of the nuclei of lung cancer cells were significantly greater than that of the normal lung cells, while the parameters of area and circularity revealed no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our DICFM approach may be applied as an appropriate approach to quantify the immunohistochemical staining of claudin-7 on the cell membrane and claudin-7 may serve as a marker for identification of lung cancer.
Authors: Ana Sousa-Oliveira; Ana Brandão; Martin Vojtek; Salomé Gonçalves-Monteiro; Joana B Sousa; Carmen Diniz Journal: Histochem Cell Biol Date: 2018-10-24 Impact factor: 4.304
Authors: Pilar Rodríguez-Rodríguez; Maria Sofía Vieira-Rocha; Begoña Quintana-Villamandos; Ignacio Monedero-Cobeta; Parichat Prachaney; Angel Luis López de Pablo; Maria Del Carmen González; Manuela Morato; Carmen Diniz; Silvia M Arribas Journal: Pathophysiology Date: 2021-06-05