Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha is associated with vascular endothelial growth factor expression and tumour angiogenesis in human oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha expression, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, and tumour vascularity in squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. Expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF was examined in two oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (TE2, TE3) and 82 archival surgical specimens of human oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissue. In both cell lines, the levels of HIF-1alpha protein and VEGF mRNA were increased under hypoxic conditions. Thirty-two of the 82 (39%) tumour specimens showed high levels of HIF-1alpha immunoreactivity in the nuclei and/or cytoplasm of cancer cells. HIF-1alpha expression correlated significantly with venous invasion, VEGF expression, and microvessel density. Among the 47 patients who did not receive pre-operative chemotherapy, the outcome of those with high HIF-1alpha-expressing tumours was significantly poorer than that of those with low HIF-1alpha-expressing tumours. These results suggest that HIF-1alpha and VEGF expression are important determinants of survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus.
Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan.
Shigeru
S
Kimura
Yasuhiko
Y
Kitadai
Shinji
S
Tanaka
Toshio
T
Kuwai
Jun
J
Hihara
Kazuhiro
K
Yoshida
Tetsuya
T
Toge
Kazuaki
K
Chayama
D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
C497442:HIF1A protein, human; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D014157:Transcription Factors; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A