ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the expression of Na+/H+ exchanger 1(NHE1) in human gastric carcinoma tissue and to investigate the association between NHE1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expressions of NHE1 mRNA and protein were detected in both gastric carcinoma tissue (n=60) and adjacent gastric mucosa tissue (n=30) by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. The association between the expression and the clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The relative expression levels of NHE1 mRNA and protein in gastric carcinoma tissue were 0.786+/-0.291 and 1.442+/-0.175, which were significantly higher than those in adjacent gastric mucosa tissue (0.369+/-0.052 and 0.348+/-0.029) (P<0.01). The expression of NHE1 mRNA was positively correlated with NHE1 protein in the gastric carcinoma tissue (r=0.264, P<0.05). The expressions of NHE1 mRNA and protein were associated with the depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and TNM staging (P<0.05). However, no statistical difference was found in age, gender, and tumor differentiation (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The expression levels of NHE1 mRNA and protein are significantly up-regulated in gastric carcinoma tissue, which may be involved in the development of gastric carcinoma.</p>