Expression of iNOS, MMP-2 and Notch1 in gastric cancer and their correlation with metastasis

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS),matrixmetalloproteinase-2(MMP-2) and Notch1 in gastric cancer patients and their correlation with metastasis.METHODS:The expressions of iNOS,MMP-2 and Notch1 were measured with respective immunohistochemical method in the tissues from 67 patients with gastric cancers.The correlation of three selected proteins to the clinical pathological features of the patients and metastasis of gastric cancer were analyzed statistically.RESULTS:The expression of iNOS in gastric cancer patients correlated with lymphnode metastasis,invasive extent and TNM stages(P 0.05),and its expression increased with the escalation of invasion extent(P 0.05),and was found higher in the metastasis patients than in non-metastasis patients(P 0.05).The expression of MMP-2 had significant correlation with lymphnode metastasis,invasion extent and TNM stages,while the expression of Notch1 had significant correlation with the tumor size,differentiation level,lymphnode metastasis,invasion extent and TNM stages(P 0.05).Lymphnode metastasis was found in 39 patients in all patients investigated.The expression of iNOS and MMP-2 positively correlated with the expression of Notch1,respectively(P0.05),but had no significant correlation with each other(γ = 0.015,P 0.05).CONCLUSION: iNOS,MMP-2 and Notch1 all participate in the progress of gastric cancer.Moreover,iNOS and MMP-2 may both act through the Notch1 signaling pathway and eventually can regulate the tumor angiogenesis and promote metastasis of gastric cancer.