肿瘤相关巨噬细胞与MMP-9在肝细胞癌中表达与门脉癌栓的关系

目的检测肝细胞癌(简称肝癌)组织中肿瘤相关巨噬细胞(TAMs)和基质金属蛋白酶-9(MMP-9)表达水平,并探讨与肝癌门脉癌栓的关系。方法选取72例肝癌手术切除标本按有无门脉癌栓分为2组,采用免疫组化法分别检测组织中CD68(TAMs标记物)和MMP-9表达,光镜下对TAMs计数及MMP-9阳性表达评分进行分析,并分析其与肝癌临床病理特征和肝癌转移间的关系。结果免疫组织化学方法显示CD68和MMP-9主要表达在细胞质中,两者在肝癌患者门脉癌栓组中的表达阳性率(68.6%和82.6%)均高于无门脉癌栓组(37.8%和43.2%),差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);且MMP-9表达与TAMs计数呈正相关(r=0.474,P<0.01)。结论 TAMs浸润和MMP-9表达与肝癌侵袭转移特性尤其门脉癌栓有密切关系,提示TAMs与MMP-9可作为肝癌辅助治疗和改善预后的潜在靶点。

The connection of expression of TAMs and MMP-9 with portal vein tumor thrombus in hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression of tumour associated macrophages(TAMs) and matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) tissues,and discuss their correlation with HCC metastasis portal vein tumor thrombus(PVTT).Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of CD68 and MMP-9 in cancerous tissues from 72 cases of HCC patients,who were divided into two groups according to whether there was PVTT or not.Light microscope was employed to determine expressions of MMP-9 and TAMs.The correlation between CD68 and MMP-9 expression with PVTT and other clinicopathologic features were also analyzed.Results CD68 expressed in the cytoplasm of TAMs,and MMP-9 mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of HCC cells and TAMs.The positive rates of MMP-9 expression and TAMs distribution in HCC patients with PVTT were significantly higher than those without tumor thrombus(P < 0.05).The expressions of MMP-9 were positively correlated with number of TAMs(r = 0.474,P < 0.01).Conclusion Expressions of MMP-9 and number of TAMs may be related to the PVTT in HCC,which may act as a potential target of HCC chemotherapy.