Expression of MMP-2 in residual VX2 liver tumor after transcatheter arterial embolization combined with portal venous embolization in an animal model.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the effects of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) combined with portal venous embolization (PVE) on the expression of MMP-2 in residual VX2 liver tumor tissues, liver function and non-embolic lobe regeneration.

Methods: A total of 72 rabbits were randomly divided into Sham, TAE, PVE and TAE ​+ ​PVE groups (n ​= ​18/group). The tissue samples from each group were taken at 6 ​h, 3 days and 7 days after interventional operation, respectively. MMP-2 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry, Real-time PCR, and Western-blotting. The main indicators (such as AST, ATL, and TBIL) of liver function and the volume of non-embolized hepatic lobes were measured in each group after operation. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-wallis method were used for statistical analysis.

Results: The expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein remained the highest in the Sham group, and the expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein in TAE, PVE and TAE ​+ ​PVE groups were successively increased, and the expression of MMP-2 in TAE ​+ ​PVE group was always significantly higher than TAE group. The AST and ALT levels in each group on day 7 after operation showed a significant declination, and all groups have recovered to the preoperative baseline level and TBIL has a slight fluctuation in each group after operation with no statistical difference. On day 7 after operation, the increasing volume of non-embolized liver lobes in TAE ​+ ​PVE group showed a more significant effect than those in PVE group, but there was no statistical significance (37.62 ​± ​1.54 ​ml VS 36.18 ​± ​1.15 ​ml, P ​= ​0.881), and its volume was significantly higher than those in the sham group (27.03 ​± ​1.11 ​ml).

Conclusion: TAE ​+ ​PVE is considered to be an efficient and safe approach for treating rabbit VX2 liver transplantation tumor, but the expression of MMP-2 increased fastest after TAE ​+ ​PVE, which might promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis.