Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of CD147 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma（ICC） and its clinical significance. Methods 30 ICC samples with hepatolithiasis,corresponding paracancerous tissues and 10 normal liver tissues were collected in our hospital. The CD147 mRNA in liver tissues was detected by qRT-PCR, and the expression of CD147 protein was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase -2（MMP-2） and 9 （MMP-9） protein were detected by Western blotting. The correlation of CD147 mRNA,CD147,MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression was analyzed by Kendall. Results qRT-PCR detection showed that CD147 mRNA level in ICC tissues was（3.67±1.88）,much higher than in their corresponding paracancerous tissues【（1.52±0.57）,P<0.01】 or normal liver tissues【（1.05±0.32）,P<0.01】,and there was a significant difference between paracancerous tissues and normal liver tissues（P<0.01）;the relative CD147 mRNA level in >5 cm ICC（2.73±0.97） was much higher than in <5 cm ICC tissues【（1.03±0.32）,P<0.01】,with lymph node metastasis（2.68±0.74） was much higher than ICC without【（1.07±0.44）,P<0.01】,and in ICC with lower differentiation（2.71±0.86） was much higher than in with high differentiation 【（1.06±0.42）,P<0.01】;there was no significant difference between young and elderly or male and female patients（P>0.05）; immunohistochemical staining detection showed the CD147 protein expression in ICC tissues was（27.95±4.90）,much higher than in paracancerous tissues【（13.34±9.59）,P<0.01】 or normal liver tissues【（2.18±0.66）,P<0.01】,and there was a significant difference between paracancerous tissues and normal liver tissues （P<0.01）;the MMP2 expression in ICC tissues was （1.06±0.13）,much higher than in paracancerous tissues【（0.20±0.03）,P<0.01】 or normal liver tissues【（0.15±0.02）,P<0.01】,and there was also a significant difference between paracancerous tissues and normal liver tissues（P<0.01）;the MMP9 expression in ICC was （0.93±0.12）,much higher than in paracancerous tissues 【（0.17±0.03）,P<0.01】 or normal liver tissues 【（0.15±0.03）,P<0.01】,and there was a significant difference between paracancerous tissues and normal liver tissues（P<0.01）;the CD147mRNA levels in ICC was positively correlated to MMP2 expression（r=0.457,P<0.05）,CD147mRNA positively to MMP9 expression （r=0.428,P<0.05）, CD147 protein expression positively to MMP2 expression（r=0.543,P<0.05）,and CD147 positively to MMP9 expression（r=0.517,P=0.05）. Conclusions There is a phenomenon of increased CD147 mRNA levels and enhanced expression of MMP2 and MMP9 in ICC tissues,which might promote the carcinogenesis,tumor growth,lymph node metastasis,and the lower tumor differentiation.

Key words: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, CD147, Matrix metalloproteinase -2, Matrix metalloproteinase-2