Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
Department of Aesthetic Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
Anticancer Res. 2019 Nov;39(11):6403-6412. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.13854.
Cytokines, metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) take part in many processes involved in tumor progression and invasion such as degradation of the extracellular matrix, influence on immune cells associated with tumor tissue, and angiogenesis. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the concentration of plasma levels and tissue expression of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and MMP9, and their tissue inhibitors TIMP1 and TIMP2 in patients with cervical cancer, patients with high-grade cervical intraepithelial dysplasia (CIN3) and patients with ectropion.
Concentration and expression of all tested parameters was measured in serum with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and in tissue with immunohistochemistry method.
The epithelial expression of M-CSF and TIMP1 in cancer tissue was much stronger as compared to that in ectropion and CIN3. In the case of MMP2, lack of or weak expression in epithelial cells was observed in all tested groups. Our studies showed statistical differences of tested parameters in tissue expression and in plasma concentrations in patients with cervical cancer, patients with CIN3 and patients with ectropion. Moreover, data revealed positive correlation between plasma level and cervical cancer cell expression of VEGF.
Our findings indicate a potential role of all the proteins tested here in cervical cancer diagnosis, especially VEGF. However, further studies will show whether they play a role in the progression of cancerous changes in epithelial tissue of the cervix.
细胞因子、金属蛋白酶（MMPs）及其组织抑制剂（TIMPs）参与肿瘤进展和侵袭的许多过程，如细胞外基质的降解、对与肿瘤组织相关的免疫细胞的影响以及血管生成。因此，本研究旨在比较宫颈癌、高级别宫颈上皮内瘤变（CIN3）和外翻患者血浆水平和组织表达的巨噬细胞集落刺激因子（M-CSF）、血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）、基质金属蛋白酶（MMP）-2 和 MMP9 及其组织抑制剂 TIMP1 和 TIMP2 的浓度。
用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）测量血清中所有测试参数的浓度和表达，并用免疫组织化学方法测量组织中的浓度和表达。
与外翻和 CIN3 相比，癌症组织中 M-CSF 和 TIMP1 的上皮表达要强得多。在 MMP2 的情况下，所有测试组的上皮细胞均缺乏或弱表达。我们的研究表明，宫颈癌、CIN3 和外翻患者的组织表达和血浆浓度中测试参数存在统计学差异。此外，数据显示血浆水平与宫颈癌细胞 VEGF 表达之间存在正相关。
我们的研究结果表明，所有在这里测试的蛋白质在宫颈癌诊断中都具有潜在作用，特别是 VEGF。然而，进一步的研究将表明它们是否在宫颈上皮组织癌变变化的进展中发挥作用。
