en زیست شناسی سلولی Cell Biology مقالات اصلی Original Article <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Background:</em></strong> Human Cripto-1, a member of the EGF-CFC family, is involved in embryonic development, embryonic stem cell maintenance, and tumor progression. It also participates in multiple cell signaling pathways including Wnt, Notch, and TGF-&beta;. Remarkably, it is expressed in cancer stem cell (CSC) compartments, boosting tumor cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. Although Cripto-1 is overexpressed in a variety of human malignant tumors, its expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the possible oncogenic role of Cripto-1 in ESCC progression and elucidate its association with clinicopathological parameters in patients.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Methods: </em></strong>In this study, Cripto-1 expression in 50 ESCC tissue samples was analyzed and compared to corresponding margin-normal esophageal tissues using quantitative real-time PCR.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Results:</em></strong> Cripto-1 was overexpressed in nearly 40% of ESCC samples compared with normal tissue samples. Significant correlations were observed between Cripto-1 expression and tumor differentiation grade, progression stage, and location (<em>p</em> < 0.05).</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Conclusions:</em></strong> Our results indicate that overexpression of Cripto-1 is involved in the development of ESCC. Further assessment will be necessary to determine the role of Cripto-1 cross talk in ESCC tumorigenesis.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"></p> Cancer stem cell, Cripto-1, ESCC, Expressional analysis, Real-time PCR 83 90 http://rbmb.net/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-70&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Reihaneh Alsadat Mahmoudian 10031947532846006205 10031947532846006205 No Division of Human Genetics, Immunology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Mohammad Reza Abbaszadegan 10031947532846006206 10031947532846006206 No Division of Human Genetics, Immunology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran- Medical Genetics Research Center, Medical School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Mohammad Mahdi Forghanifard 10031947532846006207 10031947532846006207 No Department of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran. Meysam Moghbeli 10031947532846006208 10031947532846006208 No Division of Human Genetics, Immunology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Faezeh Moghbeli 10031947532846006209 10031947532846006209 No Department Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran. Jamshidkhan Chamani 10031947532846006210 10031947532846006210 Yes Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran. Mehran Gholamin GholaminM@mums.ac.ir 10031947532846006211 10031947532846006211 No Immunology Research Center, BuAli Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.