Abstract
Purpose: To test the hypothesis that transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) induces expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) within the same rabbit VX2 liver tumor. Materials and Methods: Seven VX2 tumors were grown in the livers of five New Zealand white rabbits. Ultrasonography-guided biopsy was performed before and 10 minutes after TAE in all tumors. Pre- and post-TAE tumor biopsy specimens along with post-TAE whole liver tumor sections were stained with HIF-1α antibody and analyzed for percentage of HIF-1α-positive nuclei by using a spectral unmixing system mounted on a high-powered microscope. Statistical data comparisons were performed with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (α = 0.05). Results: TAE of liver tumors resulted in a statistically significant increase in the mean percentage of HIF-1α expression. The mean percentage of HIF-1α-positive stained nuclei increased from 23% ± 3.5 in pre-TAE biopsy specimens to 41% ± 8.7 in post-TAE biopsy specimens (P < .02). The increase was even more significant when the mean percentage of HIF-1α-positive stained nuclei from the same pre-TAE biopsy specimens was compared with sections from post-TAE whole tumor specimens (60% ± 8.9, P < .02). Conclusions: The results of this study revealed that hypoxia caused by TAE of VX2 liver tumors activates HIF-1α, a transcription factor that in turn regulates other pro-angiogenic factors.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1483-1489 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2008 |
Funding
R.A.O. was supported in part by the American Cancer Society–Illinois Chapter Grant Program; G.W. was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants U54 CA119341, P50 CA89018, EB 002100, and CA107467.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine