Expression and significance of HIF-lα in cervical carcinoma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Objective To investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) in cervical carcinoma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia(CIN) and its biological significance.Methods The mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α in cervical carcinoma,CIN,non-cancerous tissues,normal cervical tissues and liquid-based cells were assayed by immunohistochemistry,Western blot and RT-PCR assay.Results The expression rates of HIF-1α protein were 64.1%(50/78),47.7%(21/44),11.1%(3/27)and 0(0/14) respectively in cervical carcinoma,CINⅡ~Ⅲ,CINⅠ,adjacent non-cancerous tissues and normal tissues.In cervical carcinoma tissue,there were significant correlations between HIF-1α expression and tumor size,FIGO stage,pathological grade and lymphonodus metastasis,but no significant correlation was found between HIF-1α expression and patients' ages.The levels of mRNA and protein in cervical carcinoma tissues and CINⅡ~Ⅲ were both higher than that in non-cancerous tissues,normal tissues and CINⅠ;In liquid based cells,the levels of mRNA and protein in cervical carcinoma and HSIL were higher than that in LSIL and normal cells.Conclusion The positive rates in cervical carcinoma and CINⅡ~Ⅲ are significantly higher than that in CINⅠ,non-cancerous cancerous and normal tissues.HIF-1α may be an early molecular event in cervical tumorigenesis and the over expression of it may significantly relate to the malignant development.So it may be a new parameter for the early diagnosis and used as a biological marker of cervical cancer.It is feasible to utilize liquid-based specimens to test index which has the feature of convenience,economic and easy-obtained.