Hepatocyte growth factor is predominantly expressed by the carcinoma cellsin non-small-cell lung cancer

Hepatocyte growth factor (NGF) exerts multifunctional regulatory roles in t he growth, morphogenesis, differentiation, and motility of epithelial cells , and putatively plays important roles in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis . Aside from the full-length protein, 2 naturally occurring truncated HGF i soforms (NK1 and NK2) have been identified, Recent evidence suggests that a high level of HGF in surgically resected non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NS CLC) is a negative prognostic marker for NSCLC patients' survival. The orig in of HGF in these tumors remains uncertain. We show here by in situ hybrid ization and immunohistochemistry that HGF messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein were predominantly expressed by the tumor cells in a high percentage of pri mary NSCLC. Stromal cell expression of HGF,vas limited to some lymphocytes and endothelial cells. Normal bronchial and bronchiolar epithelial cells al so expressed HGF mRNA and immunoreactive protein. The mRNA transcripts and putative proteins of all 3 known HGF isoforms were detected in both normal lung and lung cancer tissues, but the full-length HGF was predominantly exp ressed. Our findings indicate that both autocrine and paracrine functions o f HGF are likely to contribute to the pathobiology of lung cancer in vivo. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.