ackground : Intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) is a 90 kD surface glycoprotein, that serves as cell-cell and cell-substratum adhesion molecules and helps to regulate cellular morphology, differentiation, and proliferation. The adhesion
molecules
likely play important roles in maintaining the normal structure and function of the lung, as well as participating in
the development and spread of malignant lung diseases. ICAM-1 system among many cell
adhesion molecules is importantly issuing in the pathogenesis of the tumor cell invasion or
metastasis of lung cancer.
Methods : By using IgG1 monoclonal antibody for ICAM-1, we investigated the expression
of ICAM-1 immunohistochemically in the formalin-fixed, paraffinembedded tissue sections of
the normal and lung cancers.
Results : In the normal lung tissue sections, the expression of ICAM-1 was not
discernible. Up-regulation of the ICAM-1 expression was shown on the surface of tumor cells
of lung cancers in 11 cases of 13 primary lung cancers (84.6%). ICAM-1 was strongly
positive depending on cell types of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma,
small cell carcinoma in the order of degree of expression but in the large cell carcinoma, the
expression of ICAM-1 was not noted.
Conclusion : It was concluded from these findings that up-regulation of the ICAM-1
expression may be related to pathogenesis of lung cancer.
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