Expression of Aquaporin 1 in Bladder Uroepithelial Cell Carcinoma and its Relevance to Recurrence

Objectives: To explore the expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in bladder uroepithelium cell carcinoma (BUCC)and its relevance to recurrence. Materials and
Methods: Tissue samples from 45 BUCC patients who underwenttotal cystectomy or transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and from 40 patients with non-bladdercancers who underwent special detection or treatments were collected. The level of expression of AQP1 in BUCCtissues and normal bladder tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry so as to analyze the relevance topathological patterns and time of recurrence in BUCC patients.
Results: The expression levels of AQP1 normalbladder tissues and BUCC tissues were 2.175±0.693 and 3.689±0.701, respectively, and the difference wassignificant (t=9.99, P<0.0001). Marked increase was noted with BUCC histological grade and pathological stage(P<0.01). Moreover, the expression of AQP1 was evidently higher in cancerous tissues with lymph node metastasisthan in those without (P<0.01). With short-term recurrence, the positive cell expression rate of AQP1 was higherin primary tissues, which increased obviously after recurrence. Additionally, the recurrent time of BUCC wasnegatively associated with the positive cell expression rate of AQP1 and the difference between the expressionof AQP1 before and after recurrence (r=-0.843, F=39.302, P=0.000; r=-0.829, F=35.191, P=0.000).
Conclusions:AQP1, which reflects the grade, stage, lymph node metastasis and recurrence of BUCC, has potential guidingsignificance in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancarcinoma.