UPA, β-Catenin Expression Status And Microvessel Density Correlated To Invasion And Metastasis In Thyroid Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator(uPA)andβ-catenin proteins and their relations with tumor angiogenesis and explore their correlation with invasion and metastasis of thyroid carcinoma.METHODS:SP immunohistochemistry was performed to dectect the expression of uPA,β-catenin and CD 105 in 90 cases of thyroid carcinoma tissues and 10 cases of normal tissues surrounding thyroid adenoma. MVD counting was performed and analyzed in conjunction with the clinicopathological features of human thyroid carcinomas.RESULTS:1. uPA expression was located in the cytoplasm of thyroid carcinoma cells. The positivity rate of uPA expression was without significant difference between papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)and follicular thyroid carcinoma(FTC)(p＞0.05). On the contrary,the positivity rate of uPA expression in undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma(UTC)and medullary thyroid carcinoma(MTC)was significantly higher than those in PTC and FTC(p＜0.05). Furthermore,there was significant positive relationships between uPA expression with the lymph node metastasis and the clinical stage of thyroid carcinoma(p＜0.05). 2.β-catenin gene expression was located in membrane of normal thyroid tissue. A reduced membranous expression rate ofβ-catenin and abnormal nuclear/cytoplasmic expression was observed in thyroid carcinoma cells.The abnormal expression rate ofβ-catenin in UTC and MTC was significantly higher than those in PTC and FTC(p＜0.05). On the contrary, there was no significant difference between in PTC and FTC(p＞0.05). There was significant positive relationships between abnormal expression ofβ-catenin with the lymph node metastasis and the clinical stage of thyroid carcinoma(p＜0.05).3. CD105 was only expressed in tumor angiogenesis but not in normal thyroid tissue and benign thyroid tissue. Microvessel density(MVD)value was increased sequentially in MTC,PTC,UTC and FTC. There was significant difference between groups(p＜0.05). Furthermore, the MVD value in thyroid carcinoma with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than those in cases without lymph node metastasis(p＜0.05), as well as in between clinical stageⅢ～ⅣandⅠ～Ⅱ.4. The MVD value of thyroid carcinoma in the group for both uPA positive expression andβ-catenin abnormal expression was significantly higher than that in other groups(p＜0.05). While, it was the lowest in the group with uPA negative andβ-catenin normal expression. The MVD value was significantly correlated with the positive expression of uPA and the abnormal expression ofβ-catenin in thyroid. There was statistically significantly correlation between the expression of uPA andβ-catenin.CONCLUSION:1. The expression of uPA protein is positively correlated with histological typing and clinical staging,invasion and metastasis in thyroid carcinoma.2. A reduced membranous expression rate and abnormal nuclear/cytoplasmic expression ofβ-catenin is observed in thyroid carcinoma cells,it is positively correlated with histological typing and clinical staging, invasion and metastasis in thyroid carcinoma.3. uPA andβ-catenin are cooperated in angiogenesis of thyroid carcinoma,MVD is positively correlated with invasion and metastasis in thyroid carcinoma.