Northern blot analysis of nm23 gene expression in human lung cancer

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of nm23 gene expression in lung cancer. METHODS: Forty human lung cancer tissues and 19 non-cancerous pulmonary tissues were studied for their nm23-H1 and nm23-H2 mRNA expression with nonradioactive Northern blot hybridization. Correlation of nm23 mRNA expression with clinical features of lung cancer was analyzed. RESULTS: The mRNA expression of nm23-H2 gene in poorly differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma was significantly decreased compared to that in moderately differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma. The mRNA expression of nm23-H1 and nm23-H2 genes in small cell lung cancer was decreased compared to that in squamous-cell carcinoma. No significant difference in nm23 mRNA expression was observed in lung cancers with and without lymph node metastasis, nor was there significant difference in patients with lung cancers in different stages. CONCLUSION: The mRNA expression of nm23 gene is correlated with the degree of differentiation of lung cancer, but there is no evidence of metastasis suppression effect by nm23 gene.