Expression of Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1 Alpha in Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Its Relationship with Cell Proliferation and Angiogenesis

Objective: To investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) and its relationship with cell proliferation and angiogenesis in gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods: HIF-1α and cell proliferation antigen Ki67 protein were detected by immunohistochemical method in 64 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma and 20 cases of tumor adjacent normal tissue. The microvascular density(MVD) was determined with CD34 immunostain and the correlation of HIF-1α expression with Ki67 expression and with MVD was analyzed HIF-1α and Ki67 or MVD. Results: HIF-1α was expressed in 45 of 64 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma and not expressed in normal gastric tissue. The expression of HIF-1α was associated with lymph nodes metastasis and clinicopathologic stages and positively correlated with Ki67 and MVD(r= 0.439,P0.01; r=0.582,P0.05). Conclusion: The overexpression of HIF-1α in gastric adenocarcinoma is closely related with cell proliferation and angiogenesis,which may play an important role in the processing of gastric adenocarcinoma.