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Updated: May 5, 2026
Induction of Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transitions in Sarcoma Cells
Published on: April 7, 2017
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells in endometrial cancer
Anna Supernat1, Sylwia Lapinska-Szumczyk, Hanna Majewska
1Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Medical Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland. azaczek@gumed.edu.pl.
Background/Aim:
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) are presumed to be key conditions for malignancy. Data concerning their role in endometrial cancer (EC) are scarce. We aimed to investigate the possible link between EMT and CSCs markers in EC samples.
Materials And Methods:
The study encompassed 156 primary tumour samples. Using RT-qPCR, we analyzed the expression of EMT-related genes, SNAIL and SLUG, and the CSCs marker CD133.
Results:
SNAIL and SLUG correlated with each other (R=0.33; p=0.00003). All the studied genes were expressed in both normal and malignant endometrial tissue. Decreased SNAIL expression was found to correlate with post-menopausal status (p=0.002). Decreased SLUG expression was associated with shorter overall survival (p=0.01).
Conclusion:
SLUG expression could serve as a prognostic factor in EC. No correlation between the expression of EMT and CSCs markers was found, suggesting there to be no association between the EMT and CSC phenotype in endometrial cancer.
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