Expression and significance of HMGB1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a preliminary investigation on the expression of the high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein, and its relationship to metastasis of the lymph nodes and prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: Specimens from 72 cases with complete clinical and follow-up data of thoracic ES-CC were collected. Immunohistochemical and statistical methods were used to observe the expressions of HMGB1 and VEGF-C, VEGF-D, LYVE-1 in ESCC. The relationship among the expression of HMGB1, VEGF-C and VEGF-D, micro-lymphatic vessel density (MLD), lymphatic metastasis, as well as between the pathological parameters and prognosis of the ESCC patients were analyzed. Results: There was a high expression of HMGB1 protein in ESCC, and the positive rate of the protein reached 69.44%. However, there was less expression in the normal tissue. The positive rate of HMGB1 expression in the group with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than in the group without (81.82% vs 58.97%), with a significant difference between the two (P0.05). Moreover, the HMGB1 expression was closely correlated to ESCC staging, expression of VEGF-C and VEGF-D, MLD, as well as the prognosis of the patients (P0.05 or P0.01). At the same time, the VEGF-C and VEGF-D expression were also in close relation with the lymphatic metastasis of ESCC and MLD (P0.05, P0.01) Conclusion: In ESCC, the considerable expression of HMGB1 may promote the lymph- angiogenesis by regulating the expression of VEGF-C and VEGF-D, thus facilitating the lymphatic metastasis and affecting the prognosis. Therefore, HMGB1 may possibly become a major biological marker reflecting the prognosis of ESCC and an important target of anti -lymphangiogenesis in treatment.