Detection and Analysis of RECK and MMP-9 mRNA in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective:To investigate the role and clinicopathological significance of RECK and MMP-9 mRNA expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC).Methods:We collected 62 samples of ESCC tissue,31 samples of adjacent atypical hyperplastic epithelia and 62 samples of normal esophageal epithelia in Anyang Cancer Hospital.The expression of RECK and MMP-9 was detected with in situ hybridization. Chi-square test and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the results.Results:The expression levels of RECK mRNA in ESCC tissues,adjacent atypical hyperplasia epithelia and normal esophageal epithe- lia were 45.2%,61.3%,and 82.3%,respectively,with a significant difference(χ 2 =19.186,P0.05).For ESCC, the expression level of RECK mRNA was significantly related to the degree of differentiation,depth of inva- sion and lymph node metastasis.The positive rate of MMP-9 protein expression in cancer tissues and mucosa adjacent to cancer were lower than in normal mucosa,with a significant difference.For ESCC,a significant difference was found in MMP-9 mRNA expression among patients with different degree of differentiation and different depth of invasion.MMP-9 mRNA expression was significantly different between patients with and without lymph node metastasis.For ESCC patients,the expression rates of RECK and MMP-9 mRNA were not correlated with age or gender.The expression of RECK mRNA was negatively correlated with MMP-9 expression(γ=-0.348,P0.01).Conclusion:Decreased expression of RECK and increased expression of MMP-9 may be correlated with the development,invasion and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.