The relationship between gene expression of Forkhead box C2 and tumor progression in cervical carcinoma.

To investigate the correlation between FOXC2 expression and human cervical cancer, the authors detected FOXC2 expression in cervical cancer cell lines, C33a, SiHa, and Hela. Moreover, FOXC2 expression was measured after TGF-beta1 treatment in C33a cells. Furthermore, the expression level of FOXC2 and microvessel density (MVD) were detected by indirect double-labeled immunofluorescence and laser scanning confocal microscopy in cervix tissue samples, 86 of cervical carcinoma, 54 of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 30 of normal cervix as controls. The results showed that FOXC2 was expressed in all of the cell lines, and FOXC2 expression in C33a cells can be significantly up-regulated by the treatment of TGF-beta1 and the stimulus was highest when TGF-beta1 is five ng/ml. In cervix tissues, FOXC2 expression gradually increased during the transformation from normal to cancer, and this increase was significantly associated with tumor progression (p < 0.01), lymph node status (p < 0.01), and tumor grade (p < 0.05). FOXC2 expression was positively correlated with MVD (p < 0.05). These results suggest that FOXC2 may promote the development of cervical cancer via regulation of angiogenesis.