Expression Of Id-1 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma And Its Relationship With VEGF,IGF-1R And Bcl-2 And Its Potential Clinical Implication

Objective: To study the relationship between the expression of Inhibitor of differentiation/ DNA binding-1(Id-1) and the expressions of Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), Insulin-like Growth Factor I Receptor(IGF-1R) and Bcl-2; and the potential roles of Id-1 in the carcinogenesis of HCC.Method: 40 cases of HCC specimens and 23 cases of adjacent non-tumor liver tissue were obtained from 40 patients with different cell differentiation undergoing Hepatectomy for HCC, and 15 cases of normal liver tissue specimens were used for comparison. Immunohistochemical technique was applied to detect the expressions of Id-1, VEGF, IGF-1R and Bcl-2.Results: The expressions of Id-1, VEGF and Bcl-2 were found in cytoplasm, while the expression of IGF-1R was found on cell membrane and in cytoplasm. The positivity rates of Id-1, VEGF, IGF-1R and Bcl-2 in tumor tissues were 85%, 77.5%, 85% and 40% respectively; and were significantly higher than those in normal liver tissues as well as the intensity. Both Id-1 and VEGF expressions were positively correlated with the histological grade, while the positive rate of Bcl-2 was not correlated with the tumor grade. The positive rate of Id-1 was correlated significantly with the tumor metastasis and tumor size.The expression of Id-1 was positively associated with VEGF, negatively associated with IGF-1R, and not associated with Bcl-2.Conclusion: The expression of Id-1 may be involved with vascularization of HCC and the proliferation of HCC cells, but not with the regulation of apoptosis. The results of the current study suggested that increased expression of Id-1 may play an important role in the early step of hepatocarcinogenesis, and might serve as a useful marker for determining patients with HCC.