Expression of VEGF, NRP1 and cancer stem cell marker CD44 in gastric carcinoma and their correlations / 临床与实验病理学杂志

ABSTRACT

Purpose To investigate the expression of VEGF, NRP1 and the cancer stem cell marker CD44 in gastric carcinoma and their correlations. Methods High throughput technology of tissue microarray and immunohistochemical SP method were employed to investigate the expression of VEGF, NRP1 and CD44 proteins in 72 gastric carcinoma specimens and 52 normal gastric tissues. Immu-nohistochemistry records were reviewed, their correlations and the clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated. Results ( 1 ) The positive rates of VEGF, NRP1 and CD44 proteins were 76. 4%, 66. 7%, and 83. 3% in gastric carcinoma, respectively, with sig-nificant differences from normal gastric tissues (P<0. 01). (2) The positive expression of VEGF and NRP1 were closely correlated with infiltration depth, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P<0. 05). The positive expression of CD44 was closely correlated with Lauren type, differentiation degree, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P<0. 05). (3) In addition, the expression of CD44 was significantly correlated with VEGF and NRP1 in gastric carcinoma (rs =0. 578, rs =0. 278, rs =0. 316, P<0. 05). Conclusions VEGF, NRP1 and the cancer stem cell marker CD44 are highly expressed in gastric cancer, which are closely related to the biological behaviors of gastric cancer. Synergistic effects are observed between VEGF and NRP1, and they are closely related to the expression of the cancer stem cell marker CD44, which remains to be further studied.