Expression of CD44v3, erythropoietin and VEGF-C in gastric adenocarcinomas: correlations with clinicopathological features

摘要

The cell adhesion molecule CD44 is a member of a widely expressed family of cell surface glycoproteins/proteoglycans that is involved in cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions as well as biological processes such as lymphocyte homing and activation, hematopoiesis, cell migration, tumor progression and angiogenesis.CD44 and its variants have potential as markers of metastatic ability in human malignancies including lymphomas, colorectal, gastric, renal and, cervical carcinomas, and melanomas. The v3 exon product of CD44 (CD44v3) is a trarismembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan with proven ability to bind angiogenic heparin-binding growth factors (VEGF, bFGF, HGF), suggesting its involvement in angiogenesis. Studies have found that the expression levels of VEGF in various cancer types including breast carcinoma and medulloblastoma were strongly correlated with the degree of malignancy, microvessel density and prognosis