Nestin and CD34 expression in colorectal cancer predicts improved overall survival

Nestin, a class VI intermediate filament protein of the cytoskeleton, and CD34, a transmembrane phosphoglycoprotein, are markers of progenitor cells. This study aimed to evaluate their expression and clinical significance in colorectal cancer. A clinically annotated tissue microarray, including 599 patients with colorectal cancer, was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, nestin and CD34 correlations with HIF-1a and a panel of cytokines and chemokines were assessed using quantitative reverse transcription PCR and The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. Expression of nestin and CD34 was observed only in the tumor stroma. Patients displaying high expression of nestin and CD34 demonstrated higher rates of T1 and T2 tumors (p = .020), lower vascular invasion (p r = 0.37–0.78, p Combined expression of nestin and CD34 expression is associated with better overall survival possibly by modulating a favorable immune response.巢蛋白（Nestin）是一种细胞骨架第六类中间丝蛋白，而CD34是一种跨膜磷酸糖蛋白，二者均为祖细胞标志物。本研究旨在评估二者在结直肠癌中的表达情况及其临床意义。研究采用免疫组织化学方法，对包含599例结直肠癌患者的临床注释组织微阵列进行了分析。此外，本研究通过定量反转录PCR及癌症基因组图谱（The Cancer Genome Atlas）数据集，评估了巢蛋白与CD34分别与缺氧诱导因子-1α（HIF-1α）及一组细胞因子、趋化因子的相关性。结果显示，巢蛋白与CD34的表达仅见于肿瘤间质中。高表达巢蛋白与CD34的患者，其T1、T2期肿瘤比例更高（p = 0.020），血管侵犯程度更低（相关系数r = 0.37–0.78，p）。巢蛋白与CD34的联合表达或可通过调控有利的免疫应答，与更好的总生存期相关。