Distribution Law of Goblet Cells in the Intestinal Tracts of African Ostrich Chicks

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the distribution law of different goblet cells in the intestinal tracts of African ostrich chicks. [Method] Alcian blue/pe- riodic acid-schiff reaction （AB/PAS） was adopted to observe and analyze the types and distribution of goblet cells in the intestinal tracts of ostrich chicks. Acid mu- copolysaccharide could be stained blue with alcian blue （AB）, and neutral mu- copolysaccharide could be stained red with periodic acid-schiff reagent （PAS）. [Result] According to AB/PAS results, goblet cells in the intestinal tracts were divided in- to four types： TypeⅠ was pure red, with AB negative result and PAS positive result containing neutral mucoitin; type Ⅱ was pure blue, with AB positive result and PAS negative result containing acidic mucoitin; type Ⅲ was purple reddish, with PAS posi- tive result greater than AB; typeⅣ was purple blue, with AB positive result greater than PAS. Large quantities of goblet cells were found in the intestinal tracts of os- trich chicks, mostly type III and IV.The quantities of goblet cells were decreased gradually in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, while the quantities were increased in the cecum, colon and rectum. The goblet cells in the large intestine are more than that in the small intestine. The most quantities of goblet cells were contained in rectum. [Conclusion] These results indicate that the distribution of goblet cells is closely related with the structure and function of intestinal tracts. The mucus secret- ed by the goblet Cells plays a series of important roles in the digestion and mucosal immunization.

Serological survey on canine coronavirus antibodies in giant pandas by virus neutralization test

In order to survey the infectious situation of canine coronavirus (CCV) in giant panda population, a virus neutralization test detecting specific antibodies against CCV in giant panda抯 sera was established by using two-fold dilutions of serum and 100 TCID50 of the virus. The 62 sera samples of giant pandas, which were gathered from zoos and reserve region of Sichuan Province, China were detected. The neutralization antibody titer of 1:4 was recognized as the positive criterion, 8 sera samples were detected to be positive, and the positive rate was 12.9%. The titers of neutralizing antibody ranged from 1:8 to 1:32. It was the first comprehensive investigation on neutralization antibodies against CCV in giant panda population in China. The results of study showed that the infection of CCV in giant panda population was universal, which has posed a threat to the health of giant panda. Therefore, it is incumbent on us to study safe and effective vaccines to protect giant panda against CCV infection.

Expression of HMGB1 Protein in Human Cervical Squamous Epithelium Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression of the high mobility group boxl（HMGB1） in human cervical squamous epithelial carcinoma （CSEC） and to explore the relationship of HMGB1 expression to the differentiation degree, size, invasion and metastasis of CSEC. METHODS Immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays and Western blot analysis were conducted to detect the expression of HMGB1 in the following tissue samples： 30 carcinoma in situ, 90 invasive CSEC without metastasis, 30 invasive CSEC with metastasis, 30 cases of normal cervical squamous epithelia. RESULTS The positive-expression rate of HMGB1 was 58.7% （88/150） in CSEC, showing a significant difference compared to normal cervical squamous epithelia. The expression of HMGB1 was correlated with tumor size, invasion and metastasis of CSEC （respectively, P〈0.01）, but had no relationship with the degree of differentiation （P〉0.05）. CONCLUSION The over-expression of HMGB1 in CSEC might be a useful parameter as an indication of tumor invasion, metastasis, prognosis and overall biological behavior of human CSEC, as well as a noval target site for gene therapy.

The Expression of RECK mRNA and Protein in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Clinical Significance

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression of RECK mRNA and protein in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma （ESCC） and to examine its relationship with the clinicopathologic features. METHODS The expression of RECK mRNA and protein in 62 cases of ESCC, 31 of paraneoplastic atypical hyperplasia （PAH） and 62 normal esophageal mucous membrane specimens was examined, using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS During canceration of the ESCC, the mRNA of RECK increased sequentially from ESCC tissue to PAH and normal mucous membranes. Values were 1.052±0.078, 1.274±0.235 and 1.306±0.121, respectively, with a significant difference among different groups （F=49.936, P〈0.05）. There was a statistically significant difference in the relative amount of the RECK mRNA among the ESCC tissues at various levels of differentiation, depth of infiltration, and different types of lymph node metastasis （F=5.081, F=26.084, U=24.011, P〈0.05）. In the ESCC tissue and PAH, the positive rates of RECK protein expressions were lower compared to the normal mucosa tissue, i.e. 59.7% （37/62）, 71.0% （22/31） and 85.5% （53/62）, respectively. There was a significant difference among the inter-group comparisons （Х^2=10.331, P〈0.01）. In ESCC, there was a close correlation between the RECK protein expression and the degree of cancer differentiation, and the depth of invasion and the types of ESCC lymph node metastasis （P〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION The decrease in expression of both RECK mRNA and protein in ESCC suggest that these low expressions may relate to ESCC development. Examination of RECK mRNA and protein expression may develop into one of the molecular indices for early ESCC diagnosis and prognosis.

Measurement of circulating levels of VEGF-A,-C,and -D and their receptors,VEGFR-1 and -2 in gastric adenocarcinoma

AIM: To analyze the serum levels and prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -A,-C,and -D,and their receptors,VEGFR-1 and -2 in gastric adenocarcinomas. METHODS: The serum levels of VEGF family members were measured in 76 control subjects and 76 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These measurements were correlated with clinco-pathological features and survival rates. RESULTS: The serum levels of VEGF-A and its receptor,VEGFR-1,were signifi cantly higher in patients with gastric cancer than in healthy donors (t = 2.3,P = 0.02 and t = 4.2,P < 0.0001,respectively). In contrast,the serum levels of VEGF-D were signif icantly higher in control subjects than in patients (t = 2.9,P = 0.004). There was no significant difference in serum levels of VEGF-C and VEGFR-2 between patients and controls. VEGF-C was associated with advanced tumor stage and presence of metastasis. VEGFR-1 was associated with metastasis,advanced overall stage,tumor differentiation and survival. VEGFR-2 levels were associated with poor tumor differentiation. There was no significant prognostic value for any of the VEGF family members or their receptors except for VEGFR-1 where high levels were associated with a poor overall survival. CONCLUSION: Serum VEGF levels vary significantly in the same cohort of patients with variable clinico-pathological features and prognostic values. The simultaneous measurement of VEGF receptors levels in sera may overcome the limitations of a single biomarker assay.

Effects of Different Extract of Pseudostellaria Heterophylla on Immunological Function in Mice based on Meta-analysis and Network Meta-analysis

To evaluate the effects of different extract of Pseudostellaria heterophylla on immunological function in mice based on Meta-analysis and Network meta-analysis,the article retrieved domestic and foreign databases according to the"PICO"retrieval strategy,and used Stata and ADDIS software for Meta analysis.A total of 6 reports,10 randomised controlled trials(RCTs)were eventually involved.Meta analysis results showed that:compared with the control group,the experimental group of polysaccharide,saponin and crude extract were better than that of the control(P<0.05),which significantly improved the immunological function in mice.Network meta-analysis results showed that the saponin had the best effect on the increase of phagocytic index and the differences were statistically significant[MD=1.50,95%CI(0.71,2.28),P<0.05];The polysaccharide and saponin had better effect on the increase of spleen index than the control and crude extract,and the differences were statistically significant[MD=0.77,95%CI(0.27,1.31),P<0.05],[MD=0.71,95%CI(0.01,1.50),P<0.05];the polysaccharide had the best effect on the increase of thymus index and the differences were statistically significant[MD=0.70,95%CI(0.11,1.34),P<0.05].The rank probability showed that the saponin of Pseudostellaria heterophylla had the maximum probability to increase phagocytic index of mice;the probability for the components of Pseudostellaria heterophylla increasing spleen index of mice was in the order of crude extract>polysaccharide>saponin;the probability for the components of Pseudostellaria heterophylla increasing thymus index of mice was in the order of saponin>polysaccharide>crude extract.Based on the available evidence,the extract of Pseudostellaria heterophylla could improve the immunity of mice,and the clinical effect of polysaccharide and saponin was the best,which provided a more valuable scientific reference for evidencing that the polysaccharide and saponin of Pseudostellaria heterophylla was the effective components for improving immunological function,and also was conducive to the proper further development of Pseudostellaria heterophylla resources.

Study on biological characters of SGC7901 gastric cancer cell-dendritic cell fusion vaccines

AIM： To detect the biological characters of the SGC7901 gastric cancer cell-dendritic cell fusion vaccines.METHODS： The suspending living SGC7901 gastric cancer cells and dendritic cells were induced to be fusioned by polyethylene glycol. Pure fusion cells were obtained by selective culture with the HAT/HT culture systems. The fusion cells were counted at different time points of culture and their growth curves were drawn to reflect their proliferative activities. The fusion cells were also cultured in culture medium to investigate whether they could grow into cell clones. MTT method was used to test the stimulating abilities of the fusion cells on T lymphocytes＇ proliferations. Moreover, the fusion cells were planted into nude mice to observe whether they could grow into new planted tumors in this kind of immunodeficiency animals.RESULTS： The fusion cells had weaker proliferative activity and clone abilities than their parental cells. When they were cultured, the counts of cells did not increase remarkably, nor could they grow into cell clones in culture medium. The fusion cells could not grow into new planted tumors after planted into nude mice. The stimulating abilities of the fusion cells on T lymphocytes＇ proliferations were remarkably increased than their parental dendritic cells. CONCLUSION： The SGC7901 gastric cancer cell-dendritic cell fusion vaccines have much weaker proliferative abilities than their parental cells, but they keep strong abilities to irritate the T lymphocytes and have no abilities to grow into new planted tumors in immunodeficiency animals. These are the biological basis for their antitumor biotherapies.

Immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn＇s disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic relapsing immune mediated disorders that results from an aberrant response to gut luminal antigen in genetically susceptible host. The adaptive immune response that is then triggered was widely considered to be a T-helper-1 mediated condition in Crohn＇s disease and T-helpero2 mediated condition in ulcerative colitis. Recent studies in animal models, genome wide association, and basic science has provided important insights in in the immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, one of which was the characterization of the interleukin-23/Th-17 axis.

Immune therapy including dendritic cell based therapy in chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection is a global public health problem. Of the approximately 2 billion people who have been infected worldwide, more than 400 million are chronic carriers of HBV. Considerable numbers of chronic HBV carriers suffer from progressive liver diseases. In addition, all HBV carriers are permanent source of this virus. There is no curative therapy for chronic HBV carriers. Antiviral drugs are recommended for about 10% patients, however, these drugs are costly, have limited efficacy, and possess considerable side effects. Recent studies have shown that immune responses of the host to the HBV are critically involved at every stage of chronic HBV infection： （1） These influence acquisition of chronic HBV carrier state, （2） They are important in the context of liver damages, （3） Recovery from chronic HBV-related liver diseases is dependent on nature and extent of HBV-specific immune responses. However, induction of adequate levels of HBV-specific immune responses in chronic HBV carriers is difficult. During the last one decade, hepatitis B vaccine has been administered to chronic HBV carriers as a therapeutic approach （vaccine therapy）. The present regimen of vaccine therapy is safe and cheap, but not so effective. A dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccine has recently been developed for treating chronic HBV infection. In this review, we will discuss about the concept, scientific logics, strategies and techniques of development of HBV- specific immune therapies including vaccine therapy and dendritic cell-based vaccine therapy for treating chronic HBV infection.

Classification of submucosal tumors in the gastrointestinal tract

This review is part two of three, which will present an update on the classification of gastrointestinal submucosal tumors. Part one treats of the diagnosis and part three of the therapeutic methods regarding gastrointestinal submucosal tumors. In the past there has been some confusion as to the classification of gastrointestinal submucosal tumors. Changes in classifications have emerged due to recent advances in mainly immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. The aim of this paper is to update the reader on the current classification. Literature searches were performed to find information related to classification of gastrointestinal submucosal tumors. Based on these searches the twelve most frequent submucosal tumor types were chosen for description of their classification. The factors that indicate whether tumors are benign or malignant are mainly size and number of mitotic counts. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are defined mainly by their CD117 positivity. In the future, there should be no more confusion between gastrointestinal stromal tumors and other types of submucosal tumors.

Protective effect of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine against the outbreak of hepatitis A in an open rural community

AIM： To evaluate the protective effect of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine （Healive） against hepatitis A outbreak in an emergency vaccination campaign. METHODS： During an outbreak of hepatitis A in Honghe Town, Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, two nonrandomized controlled trials were conducted in September 2006. The first trial was to vaccinate 108 anti-HAV negative individuals with close contacts of the patients from September with 1 dose of an inactivated hepatYds A vaccine, HeaUve. The control group comprised of 115 individuals with close contacts of the patients before September. The second trial was to vaccinate 3365 primary and secondary school students who volunteered to receive a dose of Healive and 2572 students who did not receive Healive serving as its controls. An epidemiological survey was conducted to evaluate the pmtectk, e efficacy of the vaccine. RESULTS： A total of 136 hepatitis A cases were reported during an outbreak that started in June, peaked in August and September, and ended after December of 2006. After a massive vaccination of school children in September, the number of cases declined significantly. No hepatitis A was detected in the 108 vaccinated individuals with dose contacts of patients, whereas 4 cases of hepatitis A were found in the controls. The infection rate of hepatitis A was not significantly different in the individuals with close contacts of patients whether or not they received the vaccine （P = 0.122）. No hepatitis A was detected in the 3365 students who received the vaccine, four cases of hepatitis A were found in the controls. The infection rate of students with or without vaccination was significantly diffeent in the students who received the vaccine （0/3365 vs 4/2572, P = 0.035）. The protective efficacy of the vaccine was 100%.CONCLUSION： Inactivated hepatitis A vaccine demonstrates a good protective effect against an outbreak of hepatitis A.

Combinational adenovirus-mediated gene therapy and dendritic cell vaccine in combating well-established tumors

Recent developments in tumor immunology and biotechnology have made cancer gene therapy and immunotherapy feasible. The current efforts for cancer gene therapy mainly focus on using immunogenes, chemogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Central to all these therapies is the development of efficient vectors for gene therapy. By far, adenovirus （AdV）-mediated gene therapy is one of the most promising approaches, as has confirmed by studies relating to animal tumor models and clinical trials. Dendritic cells （DCs） are highly efficient, specialized antigen-presenting cells, and DC- based tumor vaccines are regarded as having much potential in cancer immunotherapy. Vaccination with DCs pulsed with tumor peptides, lysates, or RNA, or loaded with apoptotic/necrotic tumor cells, or engineered to express certain cytokines or chemokines could induce significant antitumor cytotoxic T lymphocyte （CTL） responses and antitumor immunity. Although both AdV-mediated gene therapy and DC vaccine can both stimulate antitumor immune responses, their therapeutic efficiency has been limited to generation of prophylactic antitumor immunity against re-challenge with the parental tumor cells or to growth inhibition of small tumors. However, this approach has been unsuccessful in combating well-established tumors in animal models. Therefore, a major strategic goal of current cancer immunotherapy has become the development of novel therapeutic strategies that can combat well-established tumors, thus resembling real clinical practice since a good proportion of cancer patients generally present with significant disease. In this paper, we review the recent progress in AdV-mediated cancer gene therapy and DC-based cancer vaccines, and discuss combined immunotherapy including gene therapy and DC vaccines. We underscore the fact that combined therapy may have some advantages in combating well-established tumors vis-a-vis either modality administered as a monotherapy.

Simultaneous development of diabetic ketoacidosis and Hashitoxicosis in a patient treated with pegylated interferon-alpha for chronic hepatitis C

Classical interferon-alpha has been shown to be correlated with the development of a variety of autoimmune disorders. A 38 year-old female patient developed simultaneously diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperthyroidism 5 mo following initiation of treatment with pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C. High titers of glutamic acid decarboxylase, antinuclear and thyroid (thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) antibodies were detected. Antiviral treatment was withdrawn and the patient was treated with insulin for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and propranolol for hyperthyroidism. Twelve months after cessation of pegylated interferon-α therapy the patient was euthyroid without any medication but remained insulin-dependent.

Heat-shocked tumor cell lysate-pulsed dendritic cells induce effective anti-tumor immune response in vivo

AIM. To study whether heat-shocked tumor cells could enhance the effect of tumor cell lysate-pulsed dendritic cells （DCs） in evoking anti-tumor immune response in vivo. METHODS： Mouse undifferentiated colon cancer cells （CT-26） were heated at 42℃ for 1 h and then frozenthawed. The bone marrow-derived DCs pulsed with heatshocked CT-26 cell lysate （HSCT-26 DCs） were recruited to immunize syngeneic naive BALB/c mice. The cytotoxic activity of tumor specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes （CTLs） in mouse spleen was evaluated by IFN-enzyme-linked immunospot （ELISpot） and LDH release assay. The immunoprophylactic effects induced by HSCT-26 DCs in mouse colon cancer model were compared to those induced by single CT-26 cell lysate-pulsed DCs （CT-26 DCs） on tumor volume, peritoneal metastasis and survival time of the mice. RESULTS： Heat-treated CT-26 cells showed a higher hsp70 protein expression. Heat-shocked CT-26 cell lysate pulsing elevated the co-stimulatory and MHC-Ⅱ molecule expression of bone marrow-derived DCs as well as interleukin-12 p70 secretion. The IFN-y secreting CTLs induced by HSCT-26 DCs were significantly more than those induced by CT-26 DCs （P=0.002）. The former CTLs＇ specific cytotoxic activity was higher than the latter CTLs＇ at a serial E/T ratio of 10：1, 20：1, and 40：1. Mouse colon cancer model showed that the tumor volume of HSCT-26 DC vaccination group was smaller than that of CT-26 DC vaccination group on tumor volume though there was no statistical difference between them （24 mm^3 vs 8 mm^3, P=0.480）. The median survival time of mice immunized with HSCT-26 DCs was longer than that of those immunized with CT-26 DCs （57 d vs 43 d, P = 0.0384）. CONCLUSION： Heat-shocked tumor cell lysate-pulsed DCs can evoke anti-tumor immune response in vivo effectively and serve as a novel DC-based tumor vaccine.

Identification of human papillomavirus in esophageal squamous papillomas

AIM： To investigate the presence of human papillomavirus （HPV） in esophageal squamous papilloma （ESP） and determine p16, p53 and Ki67 expression in a Mexican cohort. METHODS： Nineteen cases diagnosed as ESP, corresponding to 18 patients were reviewed; nineteen cases of normal esophageal mucosa were used as negative controls. HPV detection was performed by ,amplified chromogenic in situ hybridization （ACISH） using a wide spectrum-cocktail probe and PCR. RESULTS： The average age at presentation was 46.3 years （range 28-72 years）. Patients included four （22.22%） males and 14 （77.77%） females. The most frequent location was upper third （11 cases）, followed by middle third （3 cases） and unknown site （5 cases）. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） revealed basal and focal p53 expression in 17 cases （89%）; p16 was expressed in eight cases （42.10%） and the Ki67 index ranged from 10% to 30%. HPV was detected in 14 out of 16 cases （87.5%） by ACISH： Twelve showed diffuse nuclear patterns and two showed granular patterns. HPV DNA was identified by PCR in 12 out of 14 cases （85.7%）. Low-risk HPV types were detected in the most of the cases. CONCLUSION： This study provides identification of HPV infection in almost 80% of ESP using either ACISH or PCR; overall, all of these lesions show low expression of cell-cycle markers. We suggest ACISH as an alternative diagnostic tool for HPV detection in ESR .

Therapeutic effect of autologous dendritic cell vaccine on patients with chronic hepatitis B: A clinical study

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic effect of autologous HBsAg-loaded dendritic cells (DCs) on patients with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: Monocytes were isolated from fresh peripheral blood of 19 chronic HBV-infected patients by Ficoil-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation and cultured by plastic-adherence methods. DCs were induced and proliferated in the culture medium with recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage-colony- stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) and human interleukin-4 (rhIL-4). DCs pulsed with HBsAg for twelve hours were injected into patients subcutaneously twice at intervals of two weeks. Two patients received 100 mg oral lamivudine daily for 12 mo at the same time. HBV-DNA and viral markers in sera of patients were tested every two months. RESULTS: By the end of 2003, 11 of 19 (57.9%) patients had a clinical response to DC-treatment. HBeAg of 10 (52.6%) patients became negative, and the copies of HBV-DNA decreased 101.77±2.39 averagely (t = 3.13, P<0.01). Two cases co-treated with DCs and lamivudine had a complete clinical response. There were no significant differences in the efficient rate between the cases with ALT level lower than 2xULN and those with ALT level higher than 2xULN before treatment (X2 = 0.0026). CONCLUSION: Autologous DC-vaccine induced in vitro can effectively suppress HBV replication, reduce the virus load in sera, eliminate HBeAg and promote HBeAg/anti-HBe transformation. Not only the patients with high serum ALT levels but also those with normal ALT levels can respond to DC vaccine treatment, and the treatment combining DCs with lamivudine can eliminate viruses more effectively.

T cell responses to hepatitis B surface antigen are detectable in non-vaccinated individuals

AIM: To evaluate, whether humoral hepatitis-B-vaccine non-responders also fail to mount a T cell response and to compare these results to normal vaccinees. METHODS: Fourty-seven health care employees were enrolled in this study including all available non- responders (n = 13) with an anti-HBsAg titer < 10 kU/L and all available low-responders (n = 12) with an anti- HBsAg titer < 100 kU/L. Also, 12 consecutive anti-HBsAg negative pre-vaccination subjects were enrolled as well as 10 subjects (+7 from the vaccinated group) with titers > 1000 kU/L as controls. PBMC from all subjects were analyzed by IFN-γ and IL-4 ELISPOT assays for the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reactive T cells. RESULTS: Non-responders and low-responders had no or only very limited T cell responses, respectively. Indi- viduals responding to vaccination with the induction of a high anti-HBsAg titer showed a strong T cell response after the third vaccination. Surprisingly, these individuals showed response even before the first vaccination. T cell response to control antigens and mitogens was similar in all groups. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that there is no gen- eral immune deficiency in non-/low-responders. Thus, we hypothesize that the induction of anti-HBsAg re- sponses by vaccination is significantly dependent on the pre-existing T cell repertoire against the specific antigen rather than the presence of a general T cell defect.

Vaccination with dendritic cells pulsed with hepatitis C pseudo particles induces specific immune responses in mice

AIM: To explore dendritic cells (DCs) multiple functions in immune modulation. METHODS: We used bone-marrow derived dendritic cells from BALB/c mice pulsed with pseudo particles from the hepatitis C virus to vaccinate naive BALB/c mice. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) pseudo particles consist of the genotype 1b derived envelope proteins E1 and E2, covering a non-HCV core structure. Thus, not a single epitope, but the whole "viral surface" induces immunogenicity. For vaccination, mature and activated DC were injected subcutaneously twice. RESULTS: Humoral and cellular immune responses measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot test showed antibody production as well as T-cellsdirected against HCV. Furthermore, T-cell responses confi rmed two highly immunogenic regions in E1 and E2 outside the hypervariable region 1. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate dendritic cells as a promising vaccination model for HCV infection that should be evaluated further.

Phenotypic classification of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma and its relationship with clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis

AIM: To distinguish subtypes of gastric signet ring cell (SRC) carcinoma by investigating the expression of gastric and intestinal phenotypic markers, and to study the significance of phenotypic classification in predicting tumor progression and outcome. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed in 66 cases of SRC carcinoma with MUC2, VILLIN, CDX2, Li-cadherin antibodies as intestinal phenotype markers and MUC5AC, HGM, MUC6 antibodies as gastric phenotype markers, and the relationship was analyzed between the phenotypic expression pattern and clinicopathologic parameters, as well as the 3-year survival rate. RESULTS: Expression of intestinal phenotypic markers was positively associated with tumor size, wall invasion, vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage. Cases expressing one or more intestinal markers had a significant lower survival rate than cases expressing none of the intestinal markers. CONCLUSION: The SRC carcinomas expressing intestinal phenotype markers exhibited a high pro-liferative potential, bad biological behaviors and poor prognosis. Examination of phenotype expression may be useful in distinguishing histological type and in predicting the prognosis of gastric SRC carcinoma.