Biomedical Research

Objective: To investigate the correlation between the costimulatory molecules (CD28, CTLA-4, CD80 and CD86) and the development, progression of gastric cancer.

Methods: Samples of gastric cancer tissues and tumor-adjacent normal tissues were collected from 48 gastric cancer patients who were admitted to this hospital between January 2016 and February 2017. Protein expressions of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80 and CD86 were detected in the gastric cancer tissues and tumor-adjacent tissues via Western blotting assay, while the protein levels and positive expressions of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80, CD86 and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) were measured through immunohistochemistry assay, and we investigated the correlations of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80 and CD86 expressions with the expression of VEGF-A in gastric cancer tissues.

Results: Analysis of the Western blotting assay revealed that protein expressions of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80 and CD86 in the gastric cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in the corresponding tumor-adjacent normal tissues (p<0.05). In the gastric cancer tissues of patients, the positive rates of protein expressions of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80, CD86 and VEGF-A were significantly elevated in comparison with the corresponding tumor-adjacent normal tissues (p<0.05). Through Pearson correlation analysis, protein expressions of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80 and CD86 in gastric cancer tissues of patients were positively correlated with the expression of VEGF-A (r=0.695, 0.682, 0.637, 0.614; p<0.05).

Conclusion: Costimulatory molecules, including CD28, CTLA-4, CD80 and CD86, are highly expressed in gastric cancer, which correlates with the expression of VEGF-A in gastric cancer tissues. Costimulatory molecules may facilitate induce the angiogenesis of tumor through promoting the expression of VEGF-A, thereby accelerating the development and progression of gastric cancer. Thus, expression levels of CD28, CTLA-4, CD80, CD86 and VEGF-A may serve as the reference indicators for evaluation of the biological behaviors in gastric cancer.

Author(s): Xichao Yang, Tingting Lv, Jianhong Qiang, Xueyi Li, Chaohui Zheng, Jin Ding, Zhiqin Lim, Linxuan Pang, Wanglei Du, Ping Zhu, Yanna Ba, Yinsuo Zheng, Zhenbiao Wu
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