Expression Of MMP-9, TIMP-1 And Type Ⅳ Collagen In Tumor Tissue And Concentration Of MMP-9, TIMP-1 In Serum Of Thyroid Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the relationship between the protein expression ofMMP-9,TIMP-1,type â…£collagen,the preoperative serum MMP-9,TIMP-1levels, and invasion, metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer.METHODS: we investigated the protein expression of MMP-9,TIMP-1 and typeâ…£collagen in 32 cases of thyroid carcinomas,23 cases of adjacent tissues and 30cases of benign hyperplastic lesions using immunohistochemistry. Thepreoperative serum MMP-9 and TIMP-1 concentrations were determined byenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 21 cases of thyroid carcinomas and 19cases of benign hyperplastic lesions.RESULTS: (1) The rate of positive expression of MMP-9 was 75.0%,30.3% and26.7% in tumor tissue, adjacent tissues and hyperplastic lesions respectively. Thepositive expression rate of MMP-9 was elevated significantly in tumor tissuecompare to hyperplastic lesions and adjacent tissue (P<0.05). There was significantdifference between the expression of MMP-9 and large tumour size, lymph nodeinvolvement, extrathyroidal invasion or advanced stages(P<0.05),and nosignificant difference between the expression of MMP-9 and grade,sex or age(P>0.05). (2) The rate of positive expression of TIMP-1 was 56.3%,21.7% and23.3% in tumor tissue, adjacent tissues and hyperplastic lesions respectively. Thepositive expression rate of TIMP-1 was elevated significantly in tumor tissuecompare to hyperplastic lesions and adjacent tissue (P <0.05). There wassignificant difference between the expression of TIMP-1 and lymph nodeinvolvement, extrathyroidal invasion, or advanced stages(P<0.05),and nosignificant difference between the expression of TIMP-1 and grade,sex, largetumour size or age(P >0.05). (3) The rate of positive expression of Type IVCollagen was 34.4%,73.9% and 83.3% in tumor tissue, adjacent tissues andhyperplastic lesions respectively. The positive expression rate of Type IV Collagenwas reduced significantly in tumor tissue compare to hyperplastic lesions andadjacent tissue (P <0.05). There was significant difference between the expressionof Type IV Collagen and large tumour size, lymph node involvement,extrathyroidal invasion or advanced stages(P<0.05),and no significant differencebetween the expression of Type IV Collagen and grade,sex or age(P >0.05).(4)Anegative correlation between the expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1,and Type â…£Collgen were observed(r=-0.509,P=0.003 and r=-0.494,P=0.004). A positivecorrelation between Type â…£Collgen and TIMP-1 was observed ( r=0.506,P=0.003).(5) Both MMP-9 and TIMP-1 are elevated significantly in the serum ofthyroid cancer patients when compared to the controls (P <0.05). A significantcorrelation was found between MMP-9/TIMP-1 concentration and the expressionrate of MMP-9/TIMP-1 in tissue.CONCLUSIONS: (1) MMP-9,TIMP-1 were overexpressed in the thyroidcarcinoma,there were no relationship between the expression of MMP-9,TIMP-1and sex,age or grade,but significant relationship with tumour size, lymph nodeinvolvement, extrathyroidal invasion or advanced stages. An inverse correlationwas showed between the expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 ( r=-0.509,P=0.003).The detection of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in tissue will not only contributeto the different diagnosis of thyroid tumor,but also to predict the invasion ormetastasis.(2) Type â…£Collgen was underexpressed in the thyroid carcinoma, andoverexpressed in hyperplastic lesions and adjacent tissue. An inverse correlationwas noted between the expression of Type â…£Collgen and MMP-9. There wassignificant difference between the expression of Type â…£Collgen and tumour size,lymph node involvement, extrathyroidal invasion or advanced stages. Thedetection of Type â…£Collgen in tissue will contribute to the different diagnosis ofthyroid tumor and the prediction of the invasion or metastasis.(3) The preoperativeserum MMP-9,TIMP-1 levels were elevated significantly in thyroid cancerpatients compared to the controls,which indicate that the concentration ofMMP-9,TIMP-1 in serum could be a diagnosis marker for thyroid carcinoma.Thepatients whose thyroid tumor tissue overexpress...