The Expression Of Livin In The Patients With Malignant Pleural Effusions

Objectives:To study the expression of livin mRNA in pleural effusions and autoantibody to livin in sera from the patients with the benign or the malignant pleural effusions, and to investigate its diagnostic significance in the patients with malignant pleural effusions.Methods:Both the pleural fluid specimens and the serum samples of 48 patients with malignant pleural effusions and of 48 patients with benign diseases were detected. Nested RT-PCR (nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) were performed for the detection of livin mRNA expression in pleural effusions and autoantibody to livin expression in sera. The results were compared with their cytological or histological examinations and the levels of pleural and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).Results:The result indicated that the positive rate of livin mRNA in the pleural fluid samples of 48 patients with malignant pleural effusions was 43.8%, however, only 6.3% samples of 48 patients with benign pleural effusions were positive and the level of the expression of livin was much less. The positive rate of autoantibody to livin in sera of the patients with malignant pleural effusions (18/48; 37.5%) was much higher than that in the patients with the benign pleural effusions (2/48; 4.2%). The sensitivity and specificity diagnosis for the patients with malignant pleural effusions of livin mRNA in pleural effusions, autoantibody to livin in sera, cytology, hydrothorax CEA, serum CEA were 43.8%,37.5%,35.4%,68.8%,58.3% and 93.7%,95.8%,100%,97.9%,97.9% respectively. The sensitivity diagnosis for the patients with malignant pleural effusions of livin mRNA in pleural effusions by nested RT-PCR was higher than that by cytology, but less than by hydrothorax CEA and serum CEA. The specificity diagnosis for the patients with malignant pleural effusions of livin mRNA in pleural effusions by nested RT-PCR was less than that by the other three methods. The sensitivity diagnosis for the patients with malignant pleural effusions of autoantibody to livin in sera by ELISA was higher than that by cytology, but less than by hydrothorax CEA and serum CEA. The specificity diagnosis for the patients with malignant pleural effusions of autoantibody to livin in sera ELISA was less than that by the other three methods. We found that there were no relationships between the patients with malignant pleural effusions of livin mRNA expression in pleural effusions or autoantibody to livin expression in sera and age, sex, location, histopathological subtype of the patients.Conclusions:Detecting the expression of livin mRNA and autoantibody to livin from pleural effusion samples might be used as one of the specific molecular markers for diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions. So it may provide a new diagnostic method for malignant pleural effusions by detecting early the gene of livin from pleural effusion samples.