CCR7和VEGF-C蛋白与乳腺癌预后之间的关系

目的:探讨趋化因子受体7(CCR7)及血管内皮生长因子C(VEGF-C)蛋白在乳腺癌组织中的表达水平,并分析二者与乳腺癌预后的关系。方法:采用免疫组织化学技术,联合检测CCR7和VEGF-C蛋白分别在乳腺癌组织及正常乳腺组织中的表达差异情况,并分析二者与乳腺癌各相关临床病理特征之间的关系。采用Kaplan-Meier法来评估CCR7及VEGF-C蛋白的异常表达与乳腺癌患者生存期之间的关系。结果:CCR7蛋白在乳腺癌组织(68%)中的阳性表达率高于正常乳腺组织(30%),差异有统计学显著性(P0.01);而VEGF-C蛋白在乳腺癌组织(71%)中的阳性表达率也明显高于正常乳腺组织(24%),差异也有统计学显著性(P0.01)。且在乳腺癌组织中,CCR7与VEGF-C蛋白的表达呈正相关关系(r=0.613,P0.01)。CCR7和VEGF-C蛋白的高表达均与淋巴结转移和TNM分期有关(P0.05),而与年龄、肿瘤大小、雌激素受体和孕激素受体均无关。CCR7及VEGFC蛋白阳性表达者的生存期低于阴性表达者,两组比较差异有统计学显著性(P0.05)。结论:CCR7与VEGF-C的异常高表达可能与乳腺癌预后关系密切,二者可作为判断乳腺癌预后不良的重要指标之一。     

VEGF-C和Smad4在结肠癌淋巴管生成和淋巴道转移中的作用

目的研究血管内皮生长因子C(VEGF-C)和Smad4对结肠癌淋巴管生成、淋巴结转移的影响。方法应用免疫组化方法检测79例人结肠癌组织中VEGF-C、VEGFR-3、TGF-β1、TβR-Ⅱ和Smad4的表达和淋巴管密度(LVD)。结果 LVD与VEGF-C表达水平呈正相关、与Smad4表达呈负相关;有淋巴结转移的人结肠癌组织VEGF-C表达水平高于无淋巴结转移者(<0.001)、Smad4表达低于无淋巴结转移者(=0.001);VEGF-C表达与Smad4表达呈负相关(<0.001,R=-0.507)。结论在结肠癌组织中VEGF-C和Smad4与淋巴管生成、淋巴道转移相关。     

VEGF-A和C在人结肠癌淋巴管生成和淋巴道转移中的作用

目的分析血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)-A和VEGF-C在人结肠癌组织的表达及与结肠癌淋巴管生成和淋巴道转移的关系。方法取人结肠癌组织91例,应用免疫组化方法检测VEGF-A和VEGF-C在结肠癌组织中的表达。应用D2-40标记结肠癌组织的淋巴管,观察结肠癌组织的淋巴管生成情况。结果结肠癌组织中VEGF-A和VEGF-C的表达水平明显高于正常组织,VEGF-A和VEGF-C表达阳性的结肠癌组织的淋巴管密度(LVD)明显高于阴性组织,VEGF-A和VEGF-C的表达及LVD均与淋巴结转移及Duke's分期相关。结论结肠癌组织VEGF-A和VEGF-C过表达与结肠癌的淋巴管生成和淋巴道转移相关。     

血管内皮生长因子D和血管内皮生长因子受体3在人结肠癌中的表达及淋巴道转移中的作用

目的 观察血管内皮生长因子D(VEGF-D)和血管内皮生长因子受体3(VEGFR-3)在人结肠癌组织中的表达,检测结肠癌组织中的微淋巴管密度(LMVD),探讨VEGF-D和VEGFR-3在淋巴管生成以及结肠癌淋巴道转移中的作用.方法 选择55例不同时期,不同分化程度的人结肠癌组织样本,应用免疫组织化学染色的方法,观察VEGF-D和VEGFR-3在人结肠癌组织中的表达,应用Podoplanin标记淋巴管,检测结肠癌组织中的淋巴管密度.结果 在55例结肠癌组织中,VEGF-D的阳性表达率为54.5%,明显高于在癌周正常组织内的表达(P＜0.05);结肠癌组织中VEGFR-3表达的阳性率为69.1%,明显高于在癌周正常组织内的表达(P＜0.01);并且VEGFR-3的表达与VEGF-D的表达具有显著相关性(P＜0.01).在结肠癌组织中,淋巴结转移阳性组,浸润深度超过肌层组,DukeC、D期的VEGF-D的表达水平和LMVD明显高于淋巴结转移阴性组,浸润深度未超过肌层组,Duke A、B期(P＜0.01),经计数淋巴管数量,癌组织中的LMVD明显高于癌周正常组织(P＜0.01),并且LMVD与VEGF-D的表达显著相关(P＜0.01).结论 结肠癌组织中VEGF-D的表达水平随着癌的浸润和转移程度的增强而增高,并且通过上调其受体VEGFR-3的表达而促进癌组织中淋巴管的生成,从而促进癌的浸润和转移.     

直肠腺癌VEGF-C及VEGFR-3的表达与淋巴转移的关系

目的为探讨癌细胞淋巴管转移机理,观察血管内皮生长因子-C(VEGF-C)和血管内皮生长因子受体-3(VEGFR-3)在直肠腺癌组织及淋巴管的表达。方法取人直肠腺癌手术材料30例,用免疫组化方法检测癌区和癌周正常区VEGF-C和VEGFR-3的表达情况。结果VEGF-C主要表达在直肠腺癌的癌细胞胞浆,VEGFR-3主要在淋巴管内皮细胞有阳性表达,两者在癌区的表达率均高于正常区直肠组织;癌区淋巴管的平均面密度(33.81±5.67)高于正常区平均面密度(20.13±3.27)。结论VEGF-C和VEGFR-3在人直肠腺癌中的过表达,可能与淋巴管增生和扩张,促进癌细胞的淋巴转移有关。     

VEGF-C在淋巴管生成及乳腺癌淋巴道转移中的作用

目的： 探讨阻断VEGF-C/Flt-4调控系统对淋巴管生成和乳腺癌淋巴道转移的影响。方法： 体外培养胎牛胸导管内皮细胞，观察VEGF-C和抗Flt-4抗体对淋巴管内皮细胞增殖的影响；设计合成VEGF-C反义脱氧寡核苷酸（ASODN），体外实验观察其对VEGF-C基因表达的影响；建立乳腺癌裸鼠原位移植瘤模型并观察ASODN对肿瘤淋巴管生成及肿瘤生长转移的影响。结果： 加入前列腺癌细胞PC3(高表达VEGF-C)上清后，淋巴管内皮细胞增殖活跃；加入抗Flt-4抗体后各时段细胞计数均明显少于其它各组。体外实验RT-PCR及 Western blotting显示ASODN作用的MCF-7细胞组VEGF-C mRNA及蛋白表达均低于对照组。体内RT-PCR检测表明ASODN组移植瘤VEGF-C mRNA表达明显受抑制；5-Nase-ALPase双重酶组织化学法结果显示ASODN组移植瘤的淋巴管生成明显减少；ASODN组肿瘤生长速度较对照组缓慢，且肿瘤体积、淋巴结转移明显低于对照组。结论： VEGF-C/Flt-4调控系统与乳腺癌组织的淋巴管生成及肿瘤的淋巴道转移密切相关。阻断淋巴管内皮细胞Flt-4表达，可在一定程度上抑制肿瘤细胞诱导的淋巴管内皮细胞增殖；ASODN通过下调乳腺癌VEGF-C的表达，减少肿瘤淋巴管的生成及淋巴结转移。     

食管癌血管内皮生长因子和受体的表达及在癌转移中的作用

目的观察人食管癌组织和淋巴管中血管内皮生长因子(VEGF-C)及其受体-3(VEGFR-3)的表达,探讨食管癌的淋巴道转移机制。方法取临床手术切除的食管癌组织,用免疫组化方法检测人食管癌早期和进展期癌细胞或淋巴管对VEGF-C及其VEGFR-3的表达情况。结果在食管癌的癌细胞中可见VEGF-C阳性表达,阳性颗粒主要定位于肿瘤细胞胞浆内。淋巴管内皮细胞仅见VEGFR-3阳性表达,VEGFR-3在血管和癌细胞中也存在少量阳性表达。进展期食管癌VEGF-C和VEGFR-3的表达率和表达强度均强于早期。结论食管癌癌细胞VEGF-C的表达和淋巴管内皮细胞上VEGFR-3的表达均与肿瘤进展呈正相关,推测VEGF-C通过受体VEGFR-3促进食管癌组织淋巴管生成,从而引起癌淋巴道转移。     

血管内皮生长因子C及其受体3在人恶性黑色素瘤组织内的表达及意义

目的 观察人恶性黑色素瘤组织内血管内皮生长因子C(VEGF-C)及其受体3(VEGFR-3)的表达,探讨VEGF-C和VEGFR-3在恶性黑色素瘤淋巴管生成及淋巴道转移中的作用.方法 取人恶性黑色素瘤组织48例(石蜡标本30例,术后新鲜组织18例),应用免疫组织化学和RT-PCR技术,观察VEGF-C和VEGFR-3蛋白及mRNA在恶性黑色素瘤组织内的表达情况.以淋巴管内皮透明质酸受体(LYVE-1)标记淋巴管,计数恶性黑色素瘤组织淋巴管数密度.结果 VEGF-C和VEGFR-3蛋白主要表达于恶性黑色素瘤细胞胞浆内,在肿瘤周围的血管和淋巴管内皮上也可见VEGFR-3蛋白表达,VEGF-C和VEGFR-3蛋白在淋巴结转移组恶性黑色素瘤组织内的表达水平明显高于无淋巴结转移组(P<0.05).在18例新鲜恶性黑色素瘤中,淋巴结转移组VEGF-C和VEGFR-3mRNA的表达明显高于无淋巴结转移组(P<0.01).LYVE-1表达于肿瘤间质内的淋巴管内皮细胞,淋巴结转移组恶性黑色素瘤组织中的淋巴管数密度(LMVD)为9.845±2.454,无淋巴结转移组恶性黑色素瘤组织中的淋巴管数密度为6.534±2.193,淋巴结转移组恶性黑色素瘤组织内的淋巴管数密度明显高于无淋巴结转移组(P<0.01).结论恶性黑色素瘤组织内VEGF-C表达明显增高,并通过上调其受体VEGFR-3的表达促进恶性黑色素瘤组织内淋巴管的生成,从而促进恶性黑色素瘤的淋巴道转移.     

淋巴管生成因子-C、-D及其受体在肿瘤淋巴管生成和转移中作用机制

淋巴管生成因子（VEGF）-C,-D及其受体（VEGFRs）在肿瘤组织淋巴管生成和淋巴道转移方面起着重要作用,针对于这些信号传导靶点的分子生物学研究和治疗已成为近几年的研究热点。现就这些因子在细胞内的分子信号传导途径以及在诱导淋巴管生成时,分子信号之间的协同作用作一综述。     

淋巴管生成因子-C、-D及其受体在肿瘤淋巴管生成和转移中作用机制

淋巴管生成因子(VEGF)-C,-D及其受体(VEGFRs)在肿瘤组织淋巴管生成和淋巴道转移方面起着重要作用,针对于这些信号传导靶点的分子生物学研究和治疗已成为近几年的研究热点.现就这些因子在细胞内的分子信号传导途径以及在诱导淋巴管生成时,分子信号之间的协同作用作一综述.     

趋化因子受体CCR7的表达与卵巢癌淋巴管入侵及淋巴结转移的关系

目的 观察趋化因子受体CCR7在卵巢癌组织内的表达情况,分析CCR7的表达与肿瘤淋巴管入侵和淋巴结转移之间的关系。方法 取临床资料完整的卵巢癌病例64例,其中,淋巴结转移组40例,无淋巴结转移组24例。应用免疫组化法和Western blot技术观察CCR7在卵巢癌组织内的表达。以D2-40作为淋巴管内皮特异性标记物,观察卵巢癌组织内肿瘤淋巴管入侵的情况。结果 免疫组化法和Western blot检测结果表明,CCR7表达于卵巢癌细胞浆和胞膜内,有淋巴结转移组的表达量明显高于无淋巴结转移组(p<0.05)。D2-40表达于卵巢癌组织内淋巴管内皮细胞,肿瘤淋巴管入侵在CCR7阳性组的发生率明显高于CCR7阴性组的发生率,CCR7表达与肿瘤淋巴管入侵发生率有显著相关性(p<0.05)。结论 CCR7的表达与卵巢癌发生肿瘤淋巴管入侵和淋巴结转移密切相关,提示CCR7在卵巢癌淋巴结转移中可能起重要作用。     

血管内皮生长因子-A与血管内皮生长因子-C在非小细胞肺癌中表达及与淋巴结转移的相关性

目的 探讨血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)-A和VEGF-C在非小细胞肺癌(non-small lung cancer,NSCLC)中的表达及与淋巴管生成、转移的关系.方法 以60例肺癌组织作为实验组,20例肺正常组织作为参考组,采用免疫组织化学方法检测其中的VEGF-A和VEGF-C两种蛋白表达,以D2-40 及CD34分别标记组织淋巴管和血管中的内皮细胞,并记录淋巴管的密度,血管作为对比,结合NSCLC临床、病理参数系统分析.结果 ①肺癌组织内VEGF-A蛋白阳性的表达率为73.33%(44/60)明显高于肺正常组织25.00%(5/20)(χ2=14.7641,P=0.0001),VEGF-C蛋白的阳性表达率为83.33%(50/60) 明显高于肺正常组织30.00%(6/20)(χ2=20.3175,P =0.0001).②肺癌组织VEGF-A蛋白阳性的表达高于癌旁周围组织(χ2=4.4815,P=0.0343),癌组织内VEGF-C蛋白阳性的表达高于癌旁周围组织(χ2=8.5333,P=0.0035).③VEGF-A与VEGF-C蛋白的表达和患者的性别、年龄大小、分化的程度、肿瘤大小、组织学无关,但淋巴结转移与PTNM分期呈显著相关(χ2=6.3736,P=0.0116)和(χ2=6.6516,P=0.0099).④VEGF-A蛋白阳性组织中微淋巴管密度(microlymphatic vessel density,MLVD)显著高于阴性组织(t=-7.2735,P<0.005),VEGF-C蛋白阳性的组织中MLVD 显著高于阴性组织(t=6.9338,P<0.005).MLVD与淋巴结转移和PTNM分期显著相关(t=-12.1146,P<0.05).结论 NSCLC组织中VEGF-A与VEGF-C二者蛋白的表达可能通过促进增加淋巴管生成从而促进淋巴结的转移.因此,在NSCLC中VEGF-A和VEGF-C蛋白可作为评估淋巴结转移的重要标记因子.     

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and its receptor in invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast

Invasion to lymphatic vessels and metastasis to lymph nodes are frequent complications in invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of human breast cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and its receptor, VEGFR-3 have been implicated as the important factors in the formation of lymphatic vessels and recent experimental evidence strongly suggests that lymphangiogenesis in tumor promotes lymphatic metastasis. To clarify the mechanism of its occurrence, the expression of VEGF-C, VEGFR-3 and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) was examined in 40 cases of IMPC (pure and mixed type) and in 40 cases of pseudo-IMPC. Cytoplasmic expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 were more frequent in tumor cells of IMPC compared to those of pseudo-IMPC. A significant positive correlation was found between the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in both IMPC and pseudo-IMPC. The expression of VEGF-C was also significantly associated with higher peritumoral LVD, lymphatic invasion and number of lymph node metastasis in IMPC. These findings suggest that VEGF-C promotes the proliferation of peritumoral lymphatic vessels and that lymphatic invasion and metastasis to lymph nodes are frequently induced in IMPC of breast.     

Up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor-C by nicotine in cervical cancer cell lines

PROBLEM: Smoking and infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) are major risk factors for cervical cancer. Our earlier work shows that nicotine enhances cellular proliferation of cervical cancer cell lines by up-regulating epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor EGF-R, which leads to increased insulin-like growth factor II in vitro. We found that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C, one of the five isoforms of VEGF, may be specifically involved in lymphogenic metastasis of cervical cancer. This has prompted us to study if in vitro nicotine treatment will up-regulate VEGF-C alongside EGF-R levels, while down regulating the anti-proliferative transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta levels in HPV positive cervical cancer cell lines. METHOD OF STUDY: Cervical cancer cell lines CaSki, HeLa and ME-180, were cultured in serum free DMEM medium for 24-hr, and treated with 10 ng/mL nicotine in the medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. A group of untreated cells served as controls. The cells were cultured in chamber slides (for immunofluorescent antibody assay) as well as microtiter plate wells (for BrdU cell proliferation assay). The cellular levels of VEGF-C, TGF-beta, EGF-R and HPV-E6 (early protein 6) were measured by a semi-quantitative immunofluorescent antibody assay. The cell proliferation and immunofluorescent assay data were analyzed by a Student's t-test. RESULTS: Cell proliferation was significantly increased after nicotine treatment in all the cell lines. The VEGF-C levels were significantly increased, while TGF-beta levels were decreased by nicotine in all the cell lines (P < 0.00001). EGF-R levels were also significantly increased after nicotine treatment in HeLa and ME-180, while HPV-E6 levels remained unchanged in all three. CONCLUSIONS: Nicotine up regulates expression of cell proliferative VEGF-C and EGF-R, while down-regulating anti-proliferative TGF-beta. Our data suggest that nicotine in circulation and in cervical squamous epithelial cells may promote not only rapid tumor growth but its lympho-angiogenic spread (VEGF-C) as well. It appears that nicotine does not promote HPV spread in the cervical cancer cells.     

Both high expression of pyruvate kinase M2 and vascular endothelial growth factor-C predicts poorer prognosis in human breast cancer

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) have been known to play an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor progression in breast cancer. However, the association between PKM2 and VEGF-C in breast cancer remains unclear. In the present study, a total of 218 specimens from breast cancer patients and 26 paired breast tumors with adjacent normal tissues as well as two breast cancer cell lines were enrolled to investigate the correlation between PKM2 and VEGF-C. We found that PKM2 and VEGF-C mRNA levels were both significantly increasing in breast tumors compared with adjacent normal tissues. Knockdown of PKM2 mRNA expression resulted in VEGF-C mRNA and protein down-regulated as well as cell proliferation inhibited. A positive correlation between PKM2 and VEGF-C expression was identified by immunohistochemical analyses of 218 specimens of patients with breast cancer (P=0.023). PKM2 high expression was significantly correlated with histological grade (P=0.030), lymph node stage (P=0.001), besides VEGF-C high expression was significantly associated with lymphovascular invasion (P=0.012). While combined high expression of PKM2 and VEGF-C was found to be associated with worse histological grade, more lymph node metastasis, more lymphovascular invasion, shorter progression free survival (PFS), and poorer overall survival (OS) in human breast cancer. The results of the present study suggested that PKM2 expression was correlated with VEGF-C expression, and combination of PKM2 and VEGF-C levels had the better prognostic significance in predicting the poor outcome of patients with breast cancer.     

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2 in invasive breast carcinoma: prognostic significance and relationship with markers for aggressiveness

Dhakal H P, Naume B, Synnestvedt M, Borgen E, Kaaresen R, Schlichting E, Wiedswang G, Bassarova A, Holm R, Giercksky K‐E & Nesland J M
(2012) Histopathology  61, 350–364 Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2 in invasive breast carcinoma: prognostic significance and relationship with markers for aggressiveness Aims: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR‐1) and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR‐2) play a role in breast cancer growth and angiogenesis. We examined the expression and relationship with clinical outcome and other prognostic factors. Methods and results: Tumour sections from 468 breast cancer patients were immunostained for VEGF, VEGFR‐1, and VEGFR‐2, and their relationships with tumour vascularity, disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) in bone marrow and other clinicopathological parameters were evaluated. VEGF, VEGFR‐1 and VEGFR‐2 immunoreactivities were observed in invasive breast carcinoma cells. VEGF expression was significantly associated with VEGFR‐1 and VEGFR‐2 expression (P < 0.001). High‐level cytoplasmic expression of VEGFR‐1 was associated with significantly reduced distant disease‐free survival (DDFS) (P = 0.017, log‐rank) and breast cancer‐specific survival (BCSS) (P = 0.005, log‐rank) for all patients, and for node‐negative patients without systemic treatment (DDFS, P = 0.03, log‐rank; BCSS, P = 0.009, log‐rank). VEGFR‐1 expression was significantly associated with histopathological markers of aggressiveness (P < 0.05). Significantly reduced survival was observed in DTC‐positive patients as compared with DTC‐negative patients in the combined moderate/high VEGFR‐1 group (P < 0.001 for DDFS and BCSS), and the same was true for DDFS in the moderate VEGFR‐2 group (P = 0.006). Conclusions: High‐level expression of VEGFR‐1 indicates reduced survival. Higher‐level expression of VEGFR‐1 or VEGFR‐2 in primary breast carcinomas combined with the presence of DTC selects a prognostically unfavourable patient group.     

血管内皮生长因子及其受体在肝癌细胞中的表达及意义

目的 探讨人肝癌细胞株血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）及其受体的表达,进一步认识VEGF在肝癌血管形成中的作用机制,方法 以人脐静脉血管内皮细胞系ECV304和小鼠成纤维细胞系L929作为对照,采用免疫组化染色及RT-PCR,检测体外培养的人肝细胞肝癌细胞系SMMC7721、HHCC和HepG2中VEGF及其受体的表达。结果 SMMC7721、HHCC和HepG2细胞均有VEGF的表达。同时VEGF受体1（Flt-1)在SMMC7721细胞中也有表达;而HHCC和HepG2细胞则表达VEGF的受体2（KDR）。结论 在肝癌的血管形成中可能存在VEGF的自分泌机制。