Structural and functional indicators of erythrocyte membranes in gastric cancer patients with different histotypes of the tumor and stages of the malignant process

Abstract

The purpose was to study the structural and functional parameters of erythrocyte membranes in the blood of patients with gastric cancer (GC) – adenocarcinoma, depending on its grade, signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC), and combined gastric lesions (CGL).Materials and methods. The membrane fluidity in the area of the lipid bilayer and protein-lipid contacts, the polarity of the lipid bilayer and the immersion of proteins in the lipid matrix of the membrane in red blood cells were evaluated by fluorimetry using the hydrophobic pyrene-based probe. The study included 86 patients with GC divided into six groups: well- and moderately-differentiated adenocarcinoma (G1-2); poorly-differentiated adenocarcinoma (G3); SRCC; CGL and two groups of patients with a component of undifferentiated cancer: G4 + SRCC and G4 + G2-3. The results of the study were also analyzed in patients with serosal invasion and the spread to adjacent structures (T4 according to the TNM classification of malignant tumors) and in patients with stage IV disease.Results. In all groups of GC patients, an increase in the membrane fluidity was observed. It was more pronounced in the zone of protein-lipid contacts, but it was also observed in the lipid bilayer. The membrane fluidity increased together with the grade of adenocarcinoma and was maximal when there were undifferentiated cells in stomach tumors, reaching 93.8% in the zone of protein-lipid contacts and 54.1% in the lipid bilayer, compared with healthy people (20 donors). An increase in the polarity of the lipid phase was also observed; it was most pronounced (by 7–8%, p = 0.002–0.003) in adenocarcinoma patients with undifferentiated cells and with stage IV disease. A change in the immersion of proteins in the lipid matrix of erythrocytes was less characteristic of GC, compared with other cancers (breast, lung tumors, gynecological oncopathology, etc.).Conclusions. Changes in the structural and functional properties of erythrocyte membranes reflect the state of the disease in patients with gastric cancer and may be important for predicting the course of the disease and the success of treatment.

Keywords

• рак желудка
• различные гистотипы опухоли и стадии процесса
• мембраны эритроцитов
• текучесть
• полярность
• погруженность белков
• флуоресцентный зонд пирен