Up-regulations of EphB4, EphA2, EphB3 and Ephrin-A5 in NSCLCs and Their Clinical Significances(English)

To better understand the biological functions of Eph/ephrin genes in human lung carcinomas,mRNA expression levels of EphA2,EphB,EphB4,ephrin-A5 and ephrin-B2 were quantified in samples from 48 non-small-cell lung carcinomas(NSCLCs) in comparison with normal lung tissues by real-time PCR assay.The up-regulations of EphB4,EphB3 and ephrin-A5 in 27 of 48(60%),39 of 48(81%) and 31 of 48(65%) lung cancers were found respectively.The results also showed that the expression of ephrin-A5 gene is associated with tumor histology,tumor size,metastasis,gender,smoking habits and age of the patients.There is a significant correlation between EphA2 expression and tumor size,tumor age and family history.All these results suggest that EphB4,EphA2,EphB3 and ephrin-A5 might function independently or synergistically in initiation and progression of primary lung cancer,and they might serve as valuable targets for therapeutic intervention.