Expression Profiles of VEGF-A, CD31 and GRP78 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Abstract

BackgroundAngiogenesis is mandatory for tumor growth and progression. The modest response to the anti-angiogenic therapies in non-small cell lung cancer reflects the presence of confounding molecular factors. The aims of this study were to investigate the expression levels of VEGF-A, CD31 and GRP78 and test for significant correlations between them.MethodsParaffin-embedded NSCLC tissue samples (71 adenocarcinoma and 23 squamous cell carcinoma) were retrospectively collected from 94 patients who underwent surgical resection between 2008 and 2015; and did not receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy prior to surgery. The expressions of VEGF-A, CD31 and GRP78 were determined by immunohistochemistry. ResultsHigh expression levels of VEGF-A, CD31 and GRP78 were observed in 15, 36 and 74 cases, respectively. Adenocarcinomas expressed higher levels of the aforementioned proteins as compared with squamous cell carcinomas (p-value < 0.05). Moreover, a statistically significant association was found between VEGF-A and CD31 expression levels (p-value = 0.006).ConclusionsOur study was the first to investigate the associations between GRP78 and the angiogenesis markers CD31 and VEGF-A in NSCLC patients. High GRP78 expression was revealed in the majority of the investigated samples. Nevertheless, no relationship was found between GRP78 and VEGF-A or CD31 which could be attributed to small sample size. On the other hand, the positive association between VEGF-A and CD31 expression levels suggests that VEGF-A may cooperate with CD31 to promote angiogenesis in NSCLC.