Expression of hedgehog signal molecules in pancreatic cancer and their correlation with clinical and pathologic characteristics

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of hedgehog signal molecules (Ihh,Ptc and Stop) in human pancreatic cancer and their correlation with clinical and pathologic characteristics.Methods Fifty-four pancreatic cancer samples and 5 normal pancreatic tissues were examined by im-munohistochemistry for the expression and localization of hedgehog signal molecules (Ihh, Ptc andStop). Meanwhile,correlation of hedgehog signal molecules to clinical and pathologic characteristics ofpancreatic cancer was analyzed. Western blot was carried out to analyze the expression of Ihh,Ptc and Smo in 21 freshly removed pancreatic cancer tissues and paraneoplastic pancreatic tissues. Results Of the 54 pancreatic cancer samples, immunoreactivity of Ihh, Ptc and Smo was observed in 70. 4%,64.8% and 88.9 % of the cancer tissues, respectively. No immunoreaetivity was observed in the ductal cells of all the 5 normal pancreas tissues. Expression of Ptc was strongly correlated with tumor size,differentiation grade of tumor cells,lymph node metastasis and TNM stage of tumor,and Stop expres-sion strongly correlated with the differentiated grade of tumor cells (P~0. 05,respectively). Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of Ihh, Ptc and Stop was significantly higher in pancreatic cancer compared to paraneoplastic pancreatic tissues (P < 0. 05). Conclusion The expression of Hedgehog signal molecules is significantly higher in pancreatic cancer tissues. These molecules are correlated to clinical and pathologic characteristics of pancreatic cancer. Key words: Pancreatic neoplasm; Hedgehog; Immunohistochemistry; Western blot