Expression and relationship of MMP-2 and COX-2 in bladder transitional cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the level of MMP-2 and COX-2 Protein in bladder transitional cell carcinoma tissue and explore their relationships. Methods A total of 42 patients with bladder transitional cell carcinoma, including Ta-T1 (n=18), T2-T4 (n=24), G1(n=12), G2 (n=19), G3 (n=11), metastasis (n=26) and without metastasis (n=16), were enrolled in the study. Eight normal bladder tissues were selected as control group. Western blotting was performed todetect the mRNA level of MMP-2 and COX-2. Results The relative COX-2 protein level of Ta-T1 (0.729±0.458), T2-T4 (1.248±0.425), G1 (0.61±0.486), G2 (1.055±0.406), G3 (1.422±0.341) were all higher than that of the control group significantly (0.31±0.149, t = 3.56, 4.13; F = 5.98, P ＜0.05). The relative MMP-2 protein level of Ta-T1 (0.844±0.345), T2-T4 (1.458±0.463), G1 (0.971 ±0.370), G2(1.445±0.378), G3 (1.755±0.387) were all higher than that of the control group (0.460±0.213, t = 3.91, 4.83;F = 6.35, P ＜0.05). The COX-2 and MMP-2 protein level in tumor tissues with and without metastasis were 1.246±0.426 vs 0.668±0.421, 1.430±0.461 vs 0.814±0.341, t = 5.89, 6.27, P ＜0.01, respectively. The level of COX-2 protein was positively correlated with MMP-2 positively (r =0.48, P ＜0.01). Conclusion MMP-2 and COX-2 protein are highly expressed in bladder transitional cell carcinoma tissue and their expression is positively correlated with the malignant degree. MMP-2 and COX-2 might play a synergetic role in the carcinogenesis of bladder transitional cell carcinoma. Key words: Urinary bladder neoplasms; Cyclooxygenase-2; Matrix metalloproteinase 2; Blotting,western