Expression Of Ape/ref-1 In Epithelial Ovarian Cancer And The Relationship Between Vegf And Mvd

Objective To study the expression of apurinic endonuclease/redox factor-1 (APE/Ref-1) in epithelial ovarian cancer and its correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and microvessel density (MVD) .Methods The expression of APE/Ref-1 and VEGF was detected by P-V6000 immunohistochemical technique in 20 specimens of normal ovarian tissues,30 specimens of benign ovarian rumors and 62 specimens of epithelial ovarian cancer. MVD were evaluated by immunohistochemistry with anti-human CD34 antibody. Then, the relationship between the expression of APE/Ref-1 or VEGF and MVD was analyzed.Results (1) Protein expression of APE/Ref-1 was observed in all epithelial ovarian cancer,normal ovarian tissues and benign ovarian tumors, but the cellular location was different. The APE/Ref-1 expression in normal ovarian tissues was only located in the nucleus. The APE/Ref-1 expression in benign ovarian tumors was mainly located in the nucleus, while the shifts of APE/Ref-1 from nucleus to cytoplasm was observed in 48 of 62 epithelial ovarian cancer. (2) Compared to those in normal ovarian tissues and benign ovarian tumors, there was significant difference in the cytoplasm protein expression of APE/Ref-1 in ovarian cancer (P<0.05).However, there is no difference in the protein expression of APE/Ref-1 in nucleus. Protein expression of APE/Ref-1 in both nucleus and cytoplasm in ovarian cancer was correlated with clinical stages, but not with pathological grade and histology type. (3) VEGF positive rate in the three groups was significantly different (P<0.05). The positive rate in malignant group was significantly higher than that in the normal group and the benign group (P<0.05). The expression of VEGF in ovarian cancer were correlated with pathological grade (P<0.05), but not with clinical stages or histology type. We also found that VEGF expression in patients with much ascites were significantly higher than those with less ascites. (4) MVD in benign group was significantly higher than that in normal group (t = 4.478, P<0.05). MVD in malignant group was significantly higher than that in the benign group. MVD in ovarian cancer were correlated with clinical stags (P<0.05), but not with pathological grade or histology type. (5) Ovarian cancer was divided into two groups by the existence of APE/Ref-1 cytoplasm expression. The cytoplasm location of APE/Ref-1 was significantly correlated with the over-expression of VEGF and higher MVD in epithelial ovarian cancer.Conclusion (1) The APE/Ref-1 expression in normal ovarian tissues was only located in the nucleus, whereas its expression in benign ovarian tumors and epithelial ovarian cancer was located in both nucleus and cytoplasm. This suggested that there was a relationship between APE/Ref-1 cytoplasm translocation and the occurrence of ovarian cancer. (2)Compared to those in normal ovarian tissues and benign ovarian tumors, there was significant difference in the cytoplasm protein expression of APE/Ref-1 in ovarian cancer (P<0.05) .However, there is no difference in the protein expression of APE/Ref-1 in nucleus. This also suggested that APE/Ref-1 cytoplasm translocation may be associated with the occurrence of ovarian cancer. (3) The study also showed that APE/Ref-1 expression in ovarian cancer increased with the clinical stages, not only in nucleus but also in cytoplasm. This suggested APE/Ref-1 may become an effective indicator of prognosis for ovarian cancer. (4) Ovarian cancer was divided into two groups by the existence of APE/Ref-1 cytoplasm expression. The cytoplasm location of APE/Ref-1 was significantly correlated with the over-expression of VEGF and higher MVD in epithelial ovarian cancer (P<0.05), suggesting that APE/Ref-1 cytoplasm translation may contribute to angiogenesis of ovarian cancer through increasing the expression of VEGF.