ABSTRACT
@#Background: An imbalance between pro- and anti-angiogenic factors contributes to impaired trophoblast invasion during pregnancy, leading to failure of uterine spiral artery remodeling, blood vessel ischemia, and pre-eclampsia (PE). Anti-angiogenic semaphorin 3B (SEMA3B) and pro-angiogenic cullin 1 (CUL1) are expressed in both the placenta and maternal blood. The present study investigated correlations between serum and placental SEMA3B as well as CUL1 levels in late-onset PE. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 50 patients with late-onset (≥ 32 weeks gestation) PE. Maternal serum was obtained before delivery, and placentas were obtained immediately after delivery. SEMA3B and CUL1 levels were evaluated by ELISA. Results were statistically analysed by Spearman correlation test, with a P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: While elevated serum SEMA3B levels significantly correlated with increased placental SEMA3B levels in late-onset PE (R = 0.620, P = 0.000), alteration of serum CUL1 levels did not correlate with alteration of placental CUL1. Conclusion: Alteration of circulating maternal SEMA3B, but not CUL1, levels can potentially be used to monitor PE progression during pregnancy.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression of Semaphorin3B (SEMA3B) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and reveal its clinical significance.Methods Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were performed to examine the expression of SEMA3B protein in 56 hepatocellular carcinoma samples,matched perineoplastic tissues and 14 normal liver samples.Microvessel density (MVD) was determined by counting CD34-positive endothelial cells.Statistical methods were performed to analyse the relationships between the expression of SEMA3B and clinicopathologic factors.Results The rate of the SEMA3B-positive in HCC tissues was 42.9％ and significantly lower than that in normal liver tissues and non-cancerous adjacent liver tissues(78.6％ and 85.7％,respectively)(P＜0.05).MVD in SEMA3B-positive HCC tissus was lower than that in SEMA3B-negative HCC tissus (P＜0.05).The expression of SEMA3B was closely related to tumor nodular number,tumor size,tumor capsulation and CLIP score (P＜0.05 for all).The recurrence and metastasis rate in SEMA3B-positive group was lower than that in the negative group(P＜0.05),and the survival rate in positive group was higher than that in the negative(P＜0.05).Conclusion The expression of SE-MA3B was decreased in HCC tissues,and its expression was closely associated with tumor progression,angiogenesis and prognosis,indicating that it might seve as a predictor of prognosis and a possible novel target of antiangiogenic therapy for patients with HCC.