Expression of Tie-1 and 2 receptors, and angiopoietin-1, 2 and 4 in gastric carcinoma; immunohistochemical analyses and correlation with clinicopathological factors.
OBJECTIVE
There is strong evidence that tyrosine kinases are involved in the regulation of tumour progression, cellular growth and differentiation. Recently, many kinds of tyrosine kinase receptors have been reported, and among them Tie-1 and 2 constitute a major class. Angiopoietin (Ang)-1 is known as a ligand of the Tie-2 tyrosine kinase receptor. The aim of this study was to determine the expression profile of Tie-1 and 2 and Ang-1, 2 and 4 in gastric adenocarcinoma.


RESULTS
Eighty-nine cases of surgically resected human gastric adenocarcinoma were studied by immunohistochemistry. Of these, 60 (67.4%), 61 (68.5%), 69 (77.5%), 75 (84.3%), and 47 cases (52.8%) showed positive staining in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells for the Tie-1 and 2 and Ang-1, 2 and 4 proteins, respectively. The expression of Ties and Angs was significantly correlated with several type of histological differentiation and several clinicopathological factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Ties and Angs were highly expressed in human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. These findings suggest that the Tie-Ang receptor-ligand complex is one of the factors involved in the cellular differentiation and progression of human gastric adenocarcinoma.
Department of Molecular Pathology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan. toshi-n@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
T
T
Nakayama
A
A
Yoshizaki
N
N
Kawahara
A
A
Ohtsuru
C Y
CY
Wen
E
E
Fukuda
M
M
Nakashima
I
I
Sekine
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D042683:Angiopoietin-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D042682:Angiopoietins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D042810:Receptor, TIE-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D042787:Receptor, TIE-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
D042683:Angiopoietin-1; D042682:Angiopoietins; C118117:angiopoietin 4; D042810:Receptor, TIE-1; D042787:Receptor, TIE-2