Inverse correlation between apoptotic (Fas ligand, caspase-3) and angiogenic factors (VEGF, microvessel density) in...

In order to explore whether apoptosis is associated with angiogenesis in lung cancer, immunohistochemistry was employed to determine the pro-apoptotic factors Fas ligand (FasL) and caspase-3 (Cas-3) in 70 squamous cell lung carcinomas. Furthermore, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the microvessel density (MVD) were analyzed. The comparison between MVD and the pro-apoptotic factors demonstrated that the apoptotic factors are inversely related to MVD (Cas-3: p = 0.011, FasL: not significant). In order to confirm this result, FasL and Cas-3 were also compared with the expression of VEGF. Again, an inverse correlation between VEGF and the pro-apoptotic factors was found (Cas-3: p = 0.019, FasL: p = 0.008). The inverse correlation between angiogenesis and apoptosis may be explained by the activation of pro-apoptotic and anti-angiogenic factors caused by hypoxia.