Correlation between Expression Differences of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Cholangiocarcinoma Tissue

Background: By studying the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulators in cholangiocarcinoma and intrahepatic duct stones, the correlation between the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulators and cholangiocarcinoma was revealed. Objective: The objective is to investigate the correlation between the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EC) regulatory factors and cholangiocarcinoma in patients with intrahepatic duct stones and cholangiocarcinoma, to investigate the relationship between clinicopathological features and prognosis, and to observe the expression of molecular markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in intrahepatic duct stones and bile duct carcinoma. Methods: Twenty cases of primary cholangiocarcinoma, 20 cases of intrahepatic cholangiolithiasis complicated with cholangiocarcinoma, and 20 cases of intrahepatic cholangiolithiasis specimens were collected from the Fourth People’s Hospital and the friendly medical unit of Haikou. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression differences of EMT-related molecular markers Twisit1, Twisit2, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and Vimentin in paraffin sections of normal intrahepatic bile duct tissues and patients with intrahepatic duct stones and cholangiocarcinoma. Results: Immunohistochemical staining revealed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tissue, intrahepatic cholangiolithiasis with cholangiocarcinoma, intrahepatic cholangiolithiasis with normal intrahepatic cholangiolithiasis, such as Sit1, Twisit2, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and Vimentin proteins were different. The expression of E-cadherin was decreased in cholangiocarcinoma tissue and intrahepatic cholangiolithiocarcinoma combined with cholangiocarcinoma (P < 0.05), while the expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin was up-regulated (P < 0.05). The expression of Twisit1 and Twisit2 had no difference (P > 0.05). There was no difference in the expression of intrahepatic bile duct stones and EMT (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The expression of E-cadherin, the molecular marker of EMT, was down-regulated, while the expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin was up-regulated. Age, gender, depth of tumor invasion, degree of tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis were correlated with the expression of EMT in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.