肝细胞生长因子与胃癌淋巴管生成及淋巴转移的关系

Experimental study of the hepatocyte growth factor contributing to lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in gastric cancer

目的明确肝细胞生长因子（HGF）与胃癌淋巴管生成的相互关系及其可能途径，进一步探索HGF在肿瘤淋巴转移中的作用。方法对60例胃癌组织及其邻近正常胃组织和20例胃溃疡组织标本作免疫组织化学染色，并记数血管内皮生长因子-C（VEGF-C）、HGF、c-Met和淋巴管内皮透明质酸受体-1（Lyve-1），结合胃癌的临床病理资料作相关统计学分析。结果胃癌组织中VEGF-C、HGF、c-Met表达明显上调，其微淋巴管密度（MLD）也明显高于正常胃组织和胃溃疡组织（P〈0．001），有无淋巴转移和远处转移差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）；胃癌和胃溃疡边缘淋巴管内皮有c-Met表达，HGF和肿瘤MLD之间有明显的正相关系（P〈0．001）和多元线性回归关系（P=0．001）。结论HGF与VEGF．C一样是胃癌的淋巴管生成刺激因子，它可以通过直接或间接途径刺激淋巴管的增生，促进肿瘤淋巴转移。

Objective To investigate relationship between the expression of hepatocyte growth factor（HGF） and lymphatic vessel formation in gastric cancer（GC）, and to further clarify the possible ways of HGF promoting GC lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis. Methods The expression of HGF, VEGF-C, c-Met and microlymphatic density（MLD） in tumor and non-tumor areas of 60 cases of GC and 20 cases of peptic ulcer （PU） were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The relationships between MLD and clinicopathologic features of GC were analyzed. Results The proteins of HGF, VEGF-C, and c-Met were overexpressed in GC tissues, which were significantly higher than those in normal gastric and PU tissues（P 〈 0.001）. The MLD of GC was also significant higher than those of normal gastric tissue and PU tissues（P 〈 0.05）. C-Met was expressed on enlarge lymphatic vessels in GC and PU tissues. MLD was positively correlated with the expression of HGF in GC（P 〈 0.001）. Conclusion HGF as well as VEGF-C is a lymphangiogenic factor in GC. HGF can directly or indirectly stimulate lymphangiogenesis and contribute to lymphatic metastasis in GC.