title: Expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factors a and C in patients with peptic ulcers and gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most important growth factors for metastatic tumors. To clarify the role of VEGF-A and C in patients with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) or gastric cancer (GC), we evaluated the expression levels of these two molecules. We also analyzed the effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on VEGF-A and C expression levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  PATIENTS WITH DYSPEPSIA WHO NEEDED DIAGNOSTIC ENDOSCOPY WERE SELECTED AND DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS: non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD), PUD, and GC, according to their endoscopic and histopathological results. Fifty-two patients with NUD, 50 with PUD, and 38 with GC were enrolled in this study. H. pylori infection was diagnosed by the rapid urease test. After RNA extraction and synthesis of cDNA, the expression levels of VEGF-A and C were determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VEGF-C expression level in the PUD and GC groups was significantly higher than that in the NUD group. Moreover, the VEGF-A expression level in the PUD and GC groups was higher than in the NUD group, although the differences were not statistically significant. Significant positive correlations were also observed between the expression levels of these two molecules in the PUD and GC groups. In addition, the expression levels of these two molecules were higher in H. pylori positive patients with PUD or GC than in H. pylori negative patients of the same groups; however, these differences did not reach statistical significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Up-regulation of VEGF-C expression during gastric mucosal inflammation may play a role in the development of peptic ulcers or GC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taghizadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sankian
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cell Biology Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. ; Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolghasem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ajami
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tehrani
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Nasim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hafezi
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Rajeeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mohammadian
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Advanced Medical Science Technology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
authors.forename: Touraj
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Farazmandfar
authors.affiliation: Inflammatory Diseases of Upper GI Tract Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Islamic Azad University, Sari Branch, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.affiliation: 7 Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ajami
keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Peptic ulcer; Stomach neoplasms; Vascular endothelial growth factor-A; Vascular endothelial growth factor-C