Originally published as JHC exPRESS on April 28, 2008. doi:10.1369/jhc.2008.951061
Volume 56 (8): 753-764, 2008 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Periostin Is Expressed in Pericryptal Fibroblasts and Cancer-associated Fibroblasts in the Colon
Department of Pathology and Diagnostic Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (YK,TGK,KS,YM,MF); Department of Biological Information, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan (TN,MS,IK,AK); Department of Surgery, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi, Japan (HH,HN); and Ibaraki Prefectural Central Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan (HN) Correspondence to: Masashi Fukayama, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. E-mail: mfukayama-tky{at}umin.ac.jp
Periostin is a unique extracellular matrix protein, deposition of which is enhanced by mechanical stress and the tissue repair process. Its significance in normal and neoplastic colon has not been fully clarified yet. Using immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy with a highly specific monoclonal antibody, periostin deposition was observed in close proximity to pericryptal fibroblasts of colonic crypts. The pericryptal pattern of periostin deposition was decreased in adenoma and adenocarcinoma, preceding the decrease of the number of pericryptal fibroblasts. Periostin immunoreactivity appeared again at the invasive front of the carcinoma and increased along the appearance of cancer-associated fibroblasts. ISH showed periostin signals in cancer-associated fibroblasts but not in cancer cells. Ki-67–positive epithelial cells were significantly decreased in the colonic crypts of periostin–/– mice ( 0.6-fold) compared with periostin+/+ mice. In three-dimensional co-culture within type I collagen gel, both colony size and number of human colon cancer cell line HCT116 cells were significantly larger ( 1.5-fold) when cultured with fibroblasts derived from periostin+/+ mice or periostin-transfected NIH3T3 cells than with those from periostin–/– mice or periostin–non-producing NIH3T3 cells, respectively. Periostin is secreted by pericryptal and cancer-associated fibroblasts in the colon, both of which support the growth of epithelial components. (J Histochem Cytochem 56:753–764, 2008)
Key Words: periostin pericryptal fibroblast cancer-associated fibroblast colon adenoma–carcinoma sequence
PERIOSTIN is a unique extracellular matrix protein in the collagen-rich connective tissues, such as periodontal ligament, periosteum, fascia of skeletal muscles, and cardiac valve (Takeshita et al. 1993
Periostin has also been shown in various neoplastic tissues, including cancers of the breast, pancreas, and colon (Sasaki et al. 2003 In this study, we investigated localization and function of periostin in non-neoplastic and neoplastic colon, with special attention to the PCF and the other type of myofibroblast, the cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF). Furthermore, functional studies, using periostin knockout mice, also showed growth-promoting function of periostin molecules.
Tissue Specimens Tissue specimens consisted of non-neoplastic tissues of human colon including the biopsy specimens of ulcerative colitis (3 cases) and the neoplastic tissues; carcinoma in adenoma (16 cases), carcinoma with early invasion (8 cases) and advanced invasion (24 cases); and metastatic colon cancer of the liver (13 cases). All specimens were retrieved from the files of the Department of Diagnostic Pathology, University of Tokyo Hospital. According to the criteria of the Japanese Research Society for Cancers of the Colon and Rectum (Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum 2006 For the assessment of RT-PCR, frozen tissue samples of the carcinoma and non-neoplastic mucosa were obtained from the surgically resected colons for the treatment of the carcinomas at Jichi Medical School Hospital. These tissue specimens were immediately frozen and stored at –80C. Informed consent was obtained from each patient to allow the use of portions of tissue for research purposes, and the study was approved by the ethical committee of the institutions.
For the histological analysis of the colon of periostin–/– mice, we used three 12-week-old mice homozygous for the disrupted periostin gene (Kii et al. 2006 Mice were treated in accordance with the policies of the Animal Ethics Committee of the University of Tokyo.
Cell and Culture
Transfection
Immunohistochemistry and Double Immunofluorescence For the assessment of pericryptal immunoreactivity of the colonic crypts or tumor glands with semiquantification, we defined positive crypts or glands when all circumferences were surrounded by immunoreactive material. The population of positive crypts or glands was counted and scored in four groups according to prevalence: score 0, <10%; score 1, 10–49%; score 2, 50–80%; score 3, >80%.
Immunoelectron Microscopy
ISH for Periostin mRNA
Quantitative Periostin mRNA Real-time RT-PCR For the quantitative periostin real-time RT-PCR, the housekeeping gene, β-actin, was used as an internal reference. The sequences of the primer sets were as follows: human periostin, 5'-GACTCAAGATGATTCCCTTT-3' (forward) and 5'-GGTGCAAAGTAAGTGAAGGA-3' (reverse); β-actin, 5'-GGCCACGGCTGCTTC-3' (forward), 5'GTTGGCGTACAGGTCTTTGC-3' (reverse). Real-time RT-PCR for periostin and β-actin was performed in parallel and in triplicate per sample, using an iCycler iQ Multi-Color Real Time PCR Detection System (Bio-Rad Laboratories; Hercules, CA) and the following protocol: 50C for 2 min, 95C for 15 min, and 45 cycles at 94C for 30 sec, 60C for 30 sec, and 72C for 30 sec. PCR was performed in a 50-µl reaction mixture containing 25 µl of Platinum SYBR Green qPCR SuperMix-UDG (Invitrogen; Carlsbad, CA), 2.5 µl of forward and reverse primer, 1 µl of each cDNA sample, and 19 µl of ddH2O. The relative ratio of expression of periostin and β-actin are shown as mean ± SEM.
Proliferation Assay
Three-dimensional Co-culture With Cancer Cells and Fibroblasts for the Colony Formation Assay
Statistical Analysis
Immunoreactive Periostin in PCFs of Human and Mouse Colon In normal colorectal mucosa of both humans and mice, periostin immunoreactivity was observed in the stroma surrounding the crypts (Figure 1A ), making up the "pericryptal pattern." There was no immunoreactivity in the epithelial cells of the colonic crypts or other mesenchymal cells, except for vascular smooth muscle cells. Immunofluorescent double staining for periostin and SMA (Figure 1B) showed a close approximation of periostin immunoreactivity to SMA-positive cells, which represent the PCFs. Importantly, periostin deposition was present outside of the basement membrane and frequently faced the SMA-positive PCFs (Figure 1B).
In the inflammatory condition such as ulcerative colitis, the intensity of the pericryptal pattern of periostin immunoreactivity became stronger; besides the linear immunoreactive material, a mesh pattern was observed throughout the lamina propria (Figures 1C and 1D). Immunoelectron microscopy of the mouse colonic mucosa (Figure 2 ) showed the localization of immunoreactivity for periostin. Immunoreactive material was predominantly identified in the narrow space between the PCF and basement membrane, and it mainly delineated the surface of the cytoplasm of PCFs (Figure 2B). There was a small amount of immunoreactive material within the cytoplasm of the PCF, but it was difficult to localize it precisely at the subcellular organella. On the other hand, there was no immunoreactivity identified within the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells. Thus, these findings indicate that PCFs primarily secrete periostin outside to the interstitium, resulting in a pericryptal pattern in the non-neoplastic colorectal mucosa at the light microscopic level.
Dynamics of Periostin Deposition in Relation to the PCF in Pathological Conditions It is known that the number of PCFs is decreased along the adenoma-carcinoma sequence (Yao and Tsuneyoshi 1993 SMA-positive cells seemed to be similar to that in normal or hyperplastic mucosa (Figure 3E). Thus, semiquantitative comparative evaluation of periostin and SMA immunoreactivity showed that the decrease of pericryptal immunoreactivity of periostin precedes the decrease of PCFs along the adenoma-carcinoma sequence (Table 1
; Figure 3F).
Immunoreactive Periostin in Cancer-associated Fibroblasts Periostin immunoreactivity was observed again at the stroma of the early invasive cancer (Figure 3G). The immunoreactive material showed a fibrillar shape, but the intensity was relatively weak and confined to the invasive front. When the carcinoma further invaded beyond the proper muscles, the stroma integrated within the carcinoma exhibited strong periostin immunoreactivity (Figures 3H and 3I). It became strong and dense compared with immunoreactivity observed in early invasive carcinoma. There were many fibroblastic cells with comparatively plump nuclei within the area showing periostin immunoreactivity (Figure 3J). No staining was observed in carcinoma cells. These findings were highly reproducible; the intensity and localization of immunoreactive periostin did not change by size, grade, or type of carcinoma.
Fibroblasts in cancer stroma, showing characteristics of myofibroblasts, are frequently called CAFs, and one of the well-used immunohistochemical markers for CAF is In the metastatic carcinoma of the liver, periostin immunoreactivity was observed in the capsular stroma (Figure 3L). There was little periostin immunoreactivity in normal liver tissue, including the portal areas.
Evaluation of Periostin mRNA Expression by ISH and RT-PCR Quantitative evaluation of mRNA of periostin was performed by real-time RT-PCR in normal colonic mucosa and carcinoma tissues. The amount of periostin mRNA in normal tissue was apparently lower than that in colorectal carcinomas (Figure 3O).
Epithelial Proliferation and Periostin in Normal and Neoplastic Colon
To further extend this observation to the neoplastic colon, we evaluated the proliferative effect of periostin on human cancer cells, HCT116, using a proliferation assay with human recombinant periostin. The proliferation of HCT116 cells showed a significant increase in periostin-supplemented conditions at 100 ng/ml after 6 hr of incubation (Figure 4B). The proliferation promoting effect was observed at 10 ng/ml and showed significant difference at 50-1000 ng/ml when evaluated at 24 hr of incubation (Figure 4C).
Cancer–Stromal Interaction Through Periostin in Type I Collagen Gel Three-dimensional Co-culture
Periostin is primarily an extracellular matrix protein, and its function has been intensively studied in non-neoplastic and neoplastic tissues. In this study, we showed that there were several patterns of periostin deposition, such as pericryptal pattern, stromal mesh pattern, and infiltrating pattern, which are shown in Table 3 .
Periostin deposition showed a pericryptal pattern in normal colonic mucosa. We showed by immunoelectron microscopy that a specific type of myofibroblasts, PCFs, produces and secretes periostin within the myofibroblastic sheath of the cryptic glands. PCFs in the colon play a fundamental role in the differentiation and in the absorptive function of the crypts (Birchmeier and Birchmeier 1993
Periostin deposition decreased before the number of PCFs became lower in the adenomas and completely disappeared at the stage of intramucosal carcinoma. Periostin is induced by TGFβ, bone morphologic protein-2 (BMP-2), IL-4, or IL-13 in mesenchymal cells (Horiuchi et al. 1999
There has been controversy regarding the localization of periostin in neoplastic tissues. In this study, the primary cells to produce and secrete periostin are the fibroblastic cells in the interstitium of the carcinoma, i.e., CAFs, which have characteristics of myofibroblasts (Orimo et al. 2005 In conclusion, periostin is a matrix protein secreted by both PCFs and CAFs. PCF–periostin and CAF–periostin may have a similar function, although their regulation is different; the former is regulated by the integrity of the concrete structure of pericryptal sheath, and the latter is unregulated at the invasive site of the stroma of the carcinoma.
This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology or Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and in part by grants from The Yasuda Medical Foundation to Y.K. No conflicts of interest were declared. We thank Dr. H. Niwa (RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, Japan) for kind provision of pCAGIPuro vector and M. Fujiwara, K. Sakuma, H. Yamamura, and A. Ogiwara (Department of Pathology and Diagnostic Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo) for technical support.
Received for publication February 4, 2008; accepted April 15, 2008
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