Expression levels and roles of EMC-6, Beclin1, and Rab5a in the cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE: This study is to investigate the role of EMC-6 in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer, especially concerning its relationship with autophagy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Totally 100 invasive cervical cancer, 80 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 80 normal cervical tissue samples were obtained. Expression levels of EMC-6, Beclin1, and Rab5a in the tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Our results showed that positive staining of EMC-6 was mainly located in the nucleus. Compared with the normal cervical tissue, the positive rates of EMC-6 were significantly increased in the CIN and cervical cancer tissues. Moreover, the EMC-6 positive rate in the CIN tissue was higher than the cervical cancer tissue. No significant association was observed between the expression levels of EMC-6 and the clinicopathological features of cervical cancer, including age, FIGO staging, tumor size, tumor type, histological type, cell differentiation, and lymph node metastasis. Compared with the normal cervical tissue, the positive rate of Beclin1 in the CIN tissue was significantly declined, which was further significantly down-regulated in the cervical cancer tissue. However, the positive rate of Rab5a in the CIN tissue was significantly higher than the normal cervical tissue. Moreover, compared with the normal cervical and CIN tissues, the positive rate of Rab5a in the cervical cancer tissue was further significantly increased. EMC-6 was not associated with Beclin1 and Rab5a. CONCLUSIONS: The expression level of EMC-6 is significantly elevated in cervical cancer, without significant correlation with Beclin1 and Rab5a. These findings might contribute to the understanding of the pathogenesis of cervical cancer and the involved role of EMC-6.