Pedunculopontine nucleus

Lung cancer is among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths, and thusmonitoring, treatment and course of the disease has become a major area of research following diagnosis of the disease. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of HIF pathway in development of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients diagnosed with NSCLC using their tumor and non-tumor tissue specimens. Both tumor and non-tumor tissue specimens were collected from 10 patients with NSCLC.They were placed in Trizol, and stored at - 80 C ° until processing. RNA was isolated from these tissue specimens using the Trizol/chloroform method. Then, the RNA was converted to cDNA by RT PCR. Amplified cDNA was used for gene expression via specific probes and primers. The mean age of patients (9 male, 1 female)was 62.5 years. The HIF (Hypoxia-Inducible Factor)-1 gene expression was 3 times higher in tumor tissuesthan in non-humor tissues. In relation to this pathway, there was an increased gene expression of 3.72forVEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor), 3.11forMYC (Avian Myelocytomatosis Viral Oncogene Homolog), 2.28 forTGFA (Transforming Growth Factor) and 2.28 for VEGFR-1 (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1). The increased HIF expression in the present study results in increased hypoxia in the microenvironment of tumor tissue, while induction of HIF by hypoxia results in expression of genes regulated by HIF (VGF, VEGFR-1,MYC, TGFA). Our results indicate that hypoxia and hypoxia-induced pathways play a role in development and metastasis of tumor in patients with NSCLC. Keywords: Non-small-cell lung cancer, gene expression, HIF pathway.