Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of Platelet-derived growth factor-D （PDGF-D） and Vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF） in gastric carcinoma and elucidate the relationship between their overexpression and clinical pathological characteristics. Methods Immunohistochemical assay was performed to detect the protein expression of PDGF-D and VEGF in tissues. Semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to evaluate the mRNA expression of PDGF-D and VEGF in part of random selecting gastric carcinoma samples. The correlation between the expression of PDGF-D and VEGF, and the relationship between the expression of PDGF-D, VEGF and the clinical pathological characteristics were analyzed. Results The protein expression of PDGF-D and VEGF in gastric carcinoma tissues were significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues and normal gastric mucosa(P<0.05 )；The expression of PDGF-D and VEGF correlated with TNM staging, depth of invasion ，and lymphatic metastasis (P<0.05), while the expression of PDGF-D also correlated with histological differentiation (P<0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between PDGF-D and VEGF at the mRNA and protein expression levels. (P<0.05). Conclusions PDGF-D and VEGF specifically highly expressed in gastric carcinoma. The abnormal expression may play an important role in the carcinogenesis and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.

Key words: gastric carcinoma, PDGF-D, VEGF, immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR