2011•Experimental PathologyRequires access
Expression of E-cadherin and MMP-2 in gastric carcinoma and its mechanism of invasion and metastasis
Zuo Lian-fu
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Abstract
Purpose To investigate the expression of E-cadherin and MMP-2 in gastric carcinoma and to explore the role of E-cadherin and MMP-2 in the metastasis and invasion of gastric carcinoma.Methods 50 cases of gastric carcinoma were analyzed,meanwhile 10 normal gastric mucosa samples were studied as controls.SP method was used to detect the expression of E-cadherin and MMP-2 in all the cases.Results E-cadherin expression in gastric carcinoma(46%) was significantly lower than that in normal gastric mucosa(100%)(P0.01).The positive rate of E-cadherin in non-metastatic group(68.75%) was higher than that in metastatic group(35.29%)(P0.05).The expression of E-cadherin in stages Ⅰ-Ⅱ and T1-T2 was significantly higher than those in stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ and T3-T4(P0.05,respectively).And also the significant correlation was observed between E-cadherin expression and histological grade(P0.05).The positive rate of E-cadherin in poorly differentiated group was significantly lower than that in well differentiated group.No relationship was observed among E-cadherin expression and sex,age,and metastasis(P0.05).The positive rate of MMP-2 protein in gastric carcinoma was 74%,whereas hardly found in normal gastric mucosa.There was significant difference between them(P0.05).The high expression of MMP-2 was related to tumor metastasis(P0.05).There was a significant correlation between high MMP-2 expression and degree of differentiation(P0.05).The positive rates of MMP-2 in stages Ⅰ-Ⅱ were significantly lower than that in stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ(P0.05).MMP-2 expression in T3-T4 was higher than that in T1-T2(P0.01).The expression of E-cadherin was reversely correlated with MMP-2(r=-0.368,P0.01).Conclusion The over-expression of MMP-2 and low-expression of E-cadherin are detected in gastric carcinoma.The lower expression of E-cadherin is possibly related to metastasis and invasion of carcinoma,and E-cadherin may be a useful marker for determining the biological aggressiveness of gastric carcinoma.