Expression of TGF-β_1 and TGF-β_1RII in primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression of TGF-β1 and TGF-β1RⅡ in primary hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The expression of TGF-β1 and TGF-β1RⅡ was detect by immunohistochemical assay in 50 cases of carcinoma tissues,50 cases of paracancerous tissues and 20 cases of normal liver tissues.Results The expression of TGF-β1 in paracancerous tissues was higher than in cancer tissue.The expression of TGF-β1RⅡ in cancer tissues was lower than in normal tissues.The expression of TGF-β1 in cancer tissues with metastasis was significantly increased(P 0.01 ).The expression of TGF-β1RⅡ was significantly higher in the groups of high differentiation and small cancer with no metastasis and longer recurrent interphase(P0.05).Conclusion The abnormal high expression of TGF-β1 in HCC can be an active factor in metastasis of tumor cells.The decreased expression of TGF-β1RⅡ in cancer tissues leads to the defect of negative growth regulation,which may be one of the most important reasons for carcinomatous change of hepatocytes.The expression of TGF-β1RⅡ has a negative relationship with the malignant processes of HCC,therefore TGF-β1RⅡ has potential significance of therapy in HCC.