The Fundament And Clinical Study Of CD147 In Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Of The Salivary Gland

Angiogenesis is an essential event occurring in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis, which is closely associated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). CD147 was peported to involve in progression and angiogenesis of malignant tumours by stimulating the production of VEGF and MMPs in adjacent stromal cells. However, its role and clinical relevance remains to be evaluated in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the salivary gland.The first study was to evaluate the expression of CD147 in relation to expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, VEGF, Ki-67, CD31 in ACC tissues and clinicopathologic features of ACC tissues. Methods: Expressions of CD147 were detected by immunohistochemical method (EnvisionTM method) in 72 ACC tissues, 20 normal gland tissues adjacent to tumor and 18 recurring ACC tissues. The expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, VEGF, Ki-67, CD31 were also studied. The relationships between the proteins expression and clinicopathologic parameters were analyzed by SPSS16.0 software. Results: The expressions of CD147 in ACC tissues were more significant than those in normal gland tissues (P<0.01), The expressions of CD147 in recurring ACC tissues were more significant than those in primarily ACC tissues (P<0.05). Expressions of CD147, VEGF, Ki-67 PI and MVD were concerned with ACC histopathologic type (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of CD147 was significantly associated with tumour size, clinical stage, perineural invasion, vascular invasion and distant metastasis (P<0.05), but not with age, gender and tumor recurrence (P>0.05). Conclusion: Expressions of CD147 and MMP-2, VEGF play an important role in the progress of ACC. CD147 might contribute to angiogenesis, growth, invasion and metastasis of ACC, detected it might be useful to study the action of invasion and metastasis of ACC.The second study was to investigate the expressions of CD147 in cells and tissues of ACC, and examine the correlation associated CD147 expression in ACC tissues with patients'clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. Methods: The expressions of CD147 were detected in ACC-2 and ACC-M cells by immunocytochemical stain and immunofluorescence, the expression difference between two cells was detected by Western blot. The expressions of CD147 were also detected by immunohistochemical method (EnvisionTM method) in ACC tissues and normal gland tissues. ACC patients were followed up after operations. SPSS16.0 software package was employed to analyze experimental data statistically. Results: CD147 was detected in ACC-2 and ACC-M cells, and the expression of CD147 in ACC-M cells was stronger than that in ACC-2 cells. The expression of CD147 in ACC tissues was 62.5%, significantly higher than that in normal salivary gland tissues (P<0.01). The expression of CD147 significantly correlated with tumour size, pathologic type, clinical stage, perineural invasion, vascular invasion and distant metastasis (P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that the cumulative survival rate was significantly lower in patients with strong expression of CD147 than in patients with moderate or negative expression (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that CD147 expression, pathologic type, vascular invasion and distant metastasis were all independent predictors of overall survival time (P<0.05). Conclusion: CD147 expression significantly correlates with the clinicopathological characteristics of ACC. It may serve as a valuable marker for diagnosis and an indicator for prognosis of ACC.