Expressions and clinical significance of CD146 and MMP-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE:To study the expressions and significance of CD146 and matrix metalloproteinase 2(MMP-2)in human HCC(hepatocellular carcinoma)tissues,and to explore their correlation with angiogenesis of HCC.METHODS:Immunohistochemisty was employed to determine the expressions of CD146,MMP-2 and microvessel desity(MVD)in 60 HCC tissues and their adjacent liver tissues.RESULTS:The positive rates of CD146 and MMP-2 in the HCC tissues were higher than those in the adjacent liver tissues(66.67% and 60.00% vs.30.00% and 26.67%,P0.01).MVD in the HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in the adjacent liver tissues(54.92±8.55 vs.21.36±6.63,P0.01).The expression of CD146 in the HCC tissues was significantly correlated with the clinical stage,the portal vein tumor thrombus and the presence of extrahepatic metastasis,but not correlated with the recurrence of tumor,the number of tumor,the diameter of tumor,the level of serum alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),and the differentiation of tumor.The expression of MMP-2 in the HCC tissues was significantly correlated with the clinical stage,the portal vein tumor thrombus,the presence of extrahepatic metastasis and the recurrence of tumor,but not correlated with the diameter of tumor,the number of tumor,the level of serum alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),and the differentiation of tumor.MVD was positively correlated with the expressions of CD146 and MMP-2,and the expression of CD146 was positively correlated with that of MMP-2.CONCLUSION:There are high expressions of CD146 and MMP-2 in HCC tissues,which suggests that CD146 and MMP-2 may play important roles in angiogenesis of HCC.