Neuritin expression and its relation with proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis in human astrocytoma

Neuritin, a new member of the neurotrophic factor family, plays an important role in promoting neuronal survival, differentiation, function, and repair. However, whether neuritin is expressed in human astrocytoma and involved in their proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis remains unclear. The expression of neuritin messenger RNA, protein and the relationship with proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis were examined in human astrocytoma samples and three glioma cell lines by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and quantitative real-time RT–PCR and so on. And neuritin immunoreactivity score(IRS), proliferative index (PI), apoptotic index (AI), overall daily growth (ODG), and microvessel density (MVD) in brain astrocytoma were measured. The results showed that neuritin was overexpressed in human astrocytoma samples, and the overexpression correlated positively with the malignancy of astrocytomas as reflected by changes in proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis markers. In our study, we found neuritin is overexpressed in astrocytoma, which may be an important factor in tumorigenesis and progression of astrocytoma, and can be used as a target for biological therapy.