IL-33/ST2轴在HCC中的表达及临床相关性研究

Expression of IL-33/ST2 axis in HCC and its clinical correlation with HCC

目的通过测定比较分析肝细胞癌(HCC)患者外周血、癌组织及癌旁组织中的IL-33及ST2的含量变化,探讨IL-33/ST2轴表达与HCC的临床相关性。方法ELISA分别测定观察组(原发性HCC患者)52例与对照组(健康成年人)50例血清中的IL-33/ST2的含量,化学发光法检测其AFP的含量,另外免疫组化法检测观察组中40例接受外科手术治疗患者癌组织与癌旁组织中的IL-33/ST2的表达;比较分析IL-33/ST2在HCC患者血清、癌组织及癌旁组织中的表达情况,以及性别、年龄、HBV、AFP、肿瘤大小等因素的临床关联性。结果观察组血清中IL-33的含量与对照组相比差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);观察组血清中ST2的水平较对照组明显升高,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);IL-33/ST2轴血清表达与患者的年龄、性别、AFP浓度、HBV感染均无关(P>0.05)。IL-33及ST2在癌组织中的阳性表达均低于癌旁组织,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);另外,IL-33及ST2在癌组织中的血管内皮可见表达,而癌旁组织的血管内皮处未见表达;癌组织及癌旁组织的炎性细胞聚集处可见ST2表达,未发现IL-33表达。结论HCC患者的血清ST2高表达,IL-33/ST2在HCC癌组织及其血管内皮中的低表达,而ST2只在癌及癌旁组织的炎性细胞聚集处均有表达;由此认为,IL-33/ST2轴可能参与肝癌细胞的血管生成和微环境中的炎性反应,与HBV感染和AFP浓度无关,可进一步研究IL-33/ST2轴作用机制,寻找HCC早期筛查新的潜在标志物和治疗靶点。

Objective To investigate the clinical correlation between the expression of IL-33/ST2 axis and HCC by comparing and analyzing the changes of IL-33 and ST2 levels in peripheral blood,cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The levels of IL-33 and ST2 in the serum of 52 patients in the observation group(primary HCC patients)and of 50 cases in the control group(healthy adults)were measured by ELISA,and their levels of AFP was detected by chemiluminescence.In addition,the expressions of IL-33 and ST2 in the cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of 40 patients in the observation group who had received surgical treatment were detected by immunohistochemistry.The expressions of IL-33 and ST2 in the serum,cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of HCC patients were compared and analyzed,as well as their clinical correlation with gender,age,HBV,AFP,tumor size and other factors.Results There was no significant difference in serum IL-33 level between the observation group and the control group(P>0.05).The serum level of ST2 in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Serum expressions of IL-33 and ST2 axis were not correlated with age,gender,AFP concentration or HBV infection(P>0.05).The positive expressions of IL-33 and ST2 in cancer tissues were lower than those in adjacent tissues,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).In addition,IL-33 and ST2 were expressed in the vascular endothelium of cancer tissues,while no expression was found in the vascular endothelium of adjacent tissues.The expression of ST2 was found in the aggregation sites of inflammatory cells in the cancer tissues and adjacent tissues,but no IL-33 expression was found.Conclusion ST2 is highly expressed in the serum of HCC patients,while IL-33 and ST2 were low expressed in HCC cancer tissues and their vascular endothelium.However,ST2 is only expressed in the aggregation sites of inflammatory cells in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues.Therefore,IL-33 and ST2 axis may be involved in the angiogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and the inflammatory response in the microenvironment,and it is not associated with HBV infection and AFP concentration.The mechanism of IL-33 and ST2 axis can be further studied to find new potential markers and therapeutic targets for early screening of HCC.