Expression of nitric oxide synthase in gastric cancer.

The expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in samples of normal gastric mucosa and gastric cancer were examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and semi-quantitative Western blot. In normal gastric mucosa, eNOS protein was found in all samples examined (mean, 70.2 +/- 60.1), relative to a standard protein. In gastric cancer specimens, eNOS protein was also detected in all samples, but the quantity (86.5 +/- 76.6) was not different from that found in samples of normal mucosa. The quantity of eNOS in gastric cancer tissues was negatively correlated with serosal invasion. iNbS mRNA, detected in nine of 18 cases, was slightly related to massive lymph node metastasis (n1-3 vs. n4). Neither tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA nor interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA was related to the expression of iNOS mRNA. These results suggest that iNOS not eNOS plays a role in gastric cancer tumor extension, but iNOS mRNA appears not to be induced by either TNF-alpha or IL-6.