Analysis of the Expression of LSF Transcription Factor in the Regulation of Transcription and TSG101 during the Neoplastic Transformation of Endometrial Cells

Abstract

Previous research indicates that carcinogenesis involves disrupting the functions of numerous genes, including factors involved in the regulation of transcription and cell proliferation. For these reasons, in endometrial carcinogenesis, we decided to investigate the expression of TSG101 (a suppressor of tumor transformation) and LSF (a transcription factor involved in numerous cellular processes, such as cell cycle regulation, cell growth, development, and apoptosis). LSF may be involved in the regulation of TSG101 expression. The research material consisted of endometrial cancer samples from 60 patients. The control group consisted of normal endometrium samples donated by 60 women undergoing surgery for benign diseases of the female reproductive organs. The samples were subjected to immunohistochemical staining with antibodies specific to TSG101 and LSF. Specific antibodies were used to identify TSG101 and LSF in the examined histopathological preparations. An approximately 14-fold lower risk of endometrial cancer development was observed in patients with TSG expression in more than 75% of the assessed cells (4% vs. 36%; OR = 0.07; p = 0.0182). There was a four-fold lower risk of endometrial cancer development in patients with LSF expression in more than 50% of the assessed cells (32% vs. 64%; OR = 0.26; p = 0.0262). A more than three-fold lower risk of endometrial cancer development was observed in patients with LSF expression in more than 75% of the assessed cells (24% vs. 52%; OR = 0.29; p = 0.0454). Endometrial cancer was diagnosed in those with a lower level of TSG101 expression than in those with a cancer-free endometrium. Decreased expression of TSG101 may be a marker of endometrial cancer, and increased expression of LSF when diagnosed with endometrial cancer may indicate greater advancement of the disease. These markers might be used as diagnostic and prognostic markers—however, there is a lack of a correlation between them.