Abstract: Objective To investigate the expressions of GDNF and GFRα1 in childhood nephroblastoma, and therefore its clinical significance. Methods The expression levels of GDNF and GFRα1 were examined by immunohistochemistry of 30 parrafin samples from nephroblastoma section as well as 16 parrafin samples of peritumor renal tissue. Results The positive expression rate of GDNF and GFRα1 in nephroblastoma were higher than those in normal renal tissue（66.7% vs 6.3%;63.3% vs 6.3%） . GDNF and GFRα1 were strongly expressed in epithelium and embryo bud, but weakly expressed in lobus intermedius of nephroblastoma. There was no correlation between the expressions of GDNF and GFRα1 with histological types, clinical stage and metastasis of nephroblastoma of patients. Conclusion High expression of GDNF and GFRα1 in childhood nephroblastoma might indicate its role in tumor development.

Key words: nephroblastoma, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, GDNF family receptor alpha 1, immunohistochemistry