Relationship between expression level of TIMP-3 and invasion/metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To detect the levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3(TIMP-3) in both plasma and the tissue of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and to elucidate their association with clinical features.METHODS: Plasma protein levels of TIMP-3 in 56 HCC patients and 30 cases of controls were detected by ELISA.The mRNA and protein levels of TIMP-3 in 30 HCC tissue samples with their portal vein tumor embolus and lymphatic metastasis tissues,and in normal liver tissues from 30 controls were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting.The relationship between mRNA and protein levels and their clinic-pathological data were analyzed.RESULTS: The plasma TIMP-3 protein levels in the extrahepatic metastasis patients were obviously lower than those in the non-extrahepatic metastasis patients(P0.05).The mRNA levels of TIMP-3 in normal liver,carcinoma in situ,portal vein tumor embolus and lymphatic metastasis tissues were 0.78±0.09,0.52±0.09,0.42±0.07 and 0.40±0.08,respectively,with significant differences among them(P0.05).The protein levels of TIMP-3 in these 4 kinds of tissues were 115.08±8.60,77.04±8.83,64.43±3.80 and 62.80±3.73,respectively,also with significant differences among them(P0.05).CONCLUSION: The expression of TIMP-3 significantly decreases in the carcinoma in situ tissues of HCC patients,and decreases more obviously in the portal vein tumor embolus and lymphatic metastasis tissues,indicating that low expression of TIMP-3 may play an important role in HCC invasiveness and metastasis.