Expressions and Significances of Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator and its Receptor in Human Gliomas

Objectives To study the expressions of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) in the gliomas, and to analysis the relationship between uPA and uPAR expressions and the grade of human gliomas. Methods The levels of uPA and uPAR protein expressions were determined by immunohistochemical technique in 58 cases of the gliomas and 10 samples of the normal brain tissue. Results The expressions of uPA and uPAR were not detected in normal brain tissures, and positively correlated with the pathological grade of the gliomas (P0.01). Conclusions The high levels of uPA and uPAR expressions may reflect a malignant biological behavior of the glioma cells.