Expressions of Sonic hedgehog and matrix metalloproteinase 2 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and the clinicopathological implications / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expressions of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and their association with the clinicopathological features.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunohistochemistry was employed to examine the expressions of Shh and MMP2 in 48 specimens of ESCC and 44 specimens of adjacent tissues.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positivity rate of Shh expression in ESCC (75%) was significantly higher than that in the adjacent tissues (20.45%). Shh expression was located mainly in the cell nuclei and cytoplasm, and was closely correlated with TNM stage. Positive MMP2 expression was detected in 68.75% of the ESCC tissues as compared to 22.72% in the adjacent tissues. MMP2 expression was localized mainly in the cytoplasm, and its expression level was closely correlated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. A positive correlation was found between Shh and MMP2 expressions in the 48 ESCC tissues (R=0.037, P=0.019).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The expression of Shh protein may be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis of ESCC.</p>