The Effect Of OPG/RANKL/RANK Axis On The Pathogenesis And Lymphatic Metastasis In Patients With Non－Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose To detect the expression of OPG,RANKL,RANK and content and activity of NF-кB in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC), and then to investigate its clinical significance.Methods Realtime PCR was applied to detect the gene expression levels of OPG,RANKL and RANK in cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent lung tissues of 32 patients with NSCLC matched with normal lung tissues of 15 patients with chest trauma or inflammation. Western-blot was also used to investigate the content of OPG,RANKL,RANK and NF-кB p65 proteins and activity of NF-кB.Results A significant increasing gradient of gene and protein expression of OPG,RANKL,RANK and RANKL/OPG ratio was identified in normal lung tissues, adjacent lung tissues of NSCLC and cancer tissues,as well as the intranuclear/total ratio of NF-кB p65,whereas the content of total NF-кB p65 was comparable among them. Moreover,the mRNA levels, protein levels and RANKL/OPG ratio of the system in cancer tissues of NSCLC with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that without lymph node metastasis. And the intranuclear/total ratio of NF-кB p65,but not the total content,was also increased notably in cancer tissues of NSCLC with lymph node metastasis.Conclusion The activation of OPG/RANKL/RANK axis may play an important role in pathogenesis and lymphatic metastasis of human NSCLC through activating the NF-кB signal transduction pathway.