Activation of nuclear factor-κB and expression of TNF-α mRNA in vasculopathy of portal hypertension

Objective To investigate the activation of nuclear factor-κB and the expression of TNF-α mRNA in splenic artery and vein in vasculopathy of portal hypertension and to discuss their roles in the pathogenesis of portal hypertensive vasculopathy. Methods Chemiluminescent electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to detect the activity of NF-κB in splenic artery and vein. The expression of TNF-α mRNA in splenic artery and vein of PHT patients and normal vessels was detected by RT-PCR analysis. Results The expression of TNF-α mRNA in splenic artery and vein in PHT group was (0.38±0.21) and (0. 36 ±0.16), respectively, significantly higher than that in control group (0.24± 0.12) and (0.21± 0.10) respectively, (P0.05). There was no significant difference between the splenic artery and vein in the expression of TNF-α mRNA in PHT group. The activity of NF-κB in splenic artery and vein in PHT patients was significantly higher than that in control group (P0.05), and the expression of TNF-α mRNA in splenic artery and vein of PHT patients had a significant positive correlation with the activity of NF-κB (r = 0.796, P0.05; r = 0.849, P 0.05, respectively) . Conclusion Activation of NF-κB and TNF-α may be one of the factors responsible for the formation and progress of portal hypertensive vasculopathy.