Expression Of Heparanase In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer And Role On Invasion And Metastasis Potentiality Of Human Lung Cancer Cells

Lung cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in the world. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 75—80% of all new cases of lung cancer and the outcome of patients with NSCLC remains poor. Invasion and metastasis is one of the most important biological features of NSCLC and the key factor for survival of patients. Sensitive and specific biomarkers are required to predict which patients have more aggressive disease because these patients could benefit from adjuvant radiation therapy or chemotherapy and close monitoring for disease recurrence.Heparanase (Hpa) is an endoglycosidase responsible for the degradation of the heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Heparanase mediates tumor invasion primarily through the direct cleavage of the heparan sulfate proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix and basement membrane. Degradation of heparan sulfate also leads to the release of growth factors; these factors are potent mitogens and chemotactic agents for endothelial cells that promote tumor angiogenesis.Expression of heparanase in tumor cells has been reported to correlate with the metastatic potential of tumor cells with poor prognosis in patients with various cancers. However, studies suggest that the heparanase expression status and biological role may differ among cancers. Expression of heparanase and its biological role in NSCLC has not been evaluated so far. Therefore, we will explore the role of heparanase gene on the biological behavior of NSCLC.Methods: Tissue specimens were obtained at surgery from a total of 48 patients whose diagnosis revealed NSCLC.The expression of heparanase, VEGF and microvessel density (MVD) in NSCLC and lung tissue beside tumor 3cm were determined by immunofluorescence and explore correlated the results with the clinicopathological parameters, construct eukaryotic expressing vectors carrying a full-length human heparanase cDNA in sense and antisense orientation, and then transfected these vectors into...