Expressions Of Cyr61, CTGF And WISP-1 Are Associated With Clinical Features In Lung Cancers

To gain insight into the biological functions of the CCN genes in human lung carcinomas, we quantified Cyr61, CTGF and WISP-1 mRNA expression levels in samples from sixty primary lung cancers and their matched normal lung tissues by using quantitative real-time PCR assay. Down-regulation of Cyr61 and CTGF genes were found in 48 of 60 (80%) and 39 of 60 (65%) primary lung cancers comparing to the paired normal lung tissues, respectively. In contrast, up-regulation of WISP-1 gene was observed in 50 of 60 (83%) lung cancers compared to their normal counterparts. These results were further confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining of paired normal lung and lung cancer tissues. Interestingly, statistical analysis revealed that significant associations were found among expression of either Cyr61 or CTGF versus tumor stage, tumor histology, metastasis, smoking, and family history at diagnosis. Also, a significant correlation existed between WISP-1 expression versus tumor histology, and age. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation analysis identified a strong positive correlation between expression of Cyr61 and CTGF; whereas expression of WISP-1 was negatively associated with both Cyr61 and CTGF. In summary, these results suggest that Cyr61, CTGF and WISP-1, ether alone or together, may play a role in development and progression of primary lung cancers, and these proteins might serve as valuable targets for therapeutic intervention.