An Immunohistochemical Study on Expression of CD44v5 and CD44v6 Protein in Human Gallbladder Carcinoma

Objective To evaluate the significance of CD44 v5 and CD44v6 genes expression in human gallbladder carcinoma progression and metastasis. Methods CD44v5 and CD44v6 genes expressions in 49 samples of gallbladder carcinoma, 10 samples of chronic cholecystitis and 10 samples of normal gallbladder were investigated by method of streptavidin peroxidase (SP) Immunohistochemical assays. Results ①Both the positive rates of CD44v5 and CD44v6 genes expression in malignant tumor were significantly higher than that in benign tissues. ②CD44v6 gene in gallbladder carcinoma correlated to histological type, but not for CD44v5. ③Both the CD44v5 and CD44v6 positive expression in cases with positive lymph nodes was significantly higher than in those with negative lymph nodes. Conclusions CD44v5 and CD44v6 genes expression maybe play an important role in lymph node metastasis of gallbladder carcinoma. Detecting CD44v5 and CD44v6 genes expression might be an objective indicator for progression and metastasis in gallbladder carcinoma.