| 1 | Oncofetal antigen glypican-3 as a promising early diagnostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma显示文摘BACKGROUND:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by a multi-cause,multi-stage and multi-focus process of tumor progression.Its prognosis is poor and early diagnosis is of utmost importance.This study was undertaken to investigate the dynamic expression of oncofetal antigen glypican-3 (GPC-3) and GPC-3 mRNA in hepatocarcinogenesis and to explore their early diagnostic value for HCC.METHODS:A hepatoma model was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats with 0.05% 2-fluorenylacetamide and confirmed by hematoxylin and eosin staining and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) expression.Total RNA was purified and transcribed into cDNA by reverse transcription.Fragments of the GPC-3 gene were amplified by nested RT-PCR,and confirmed by sequencing.GPC-3 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry,Western blotting or ELISA.RESULTS:Positive GPC-3 expression showed as brown granule-like staining localized in the cytoplasm.Histological examination of hepatocytes revealed three morphological stages of granule-like degeneration,atypical hyperplasia (precancerous),and cancer formation,with a progressive increase of liver total RNA and GGT expression.The incidence of liver GPC-3 mRNA and GPC-3,and serum GPC-3 was 100%,100% and 77.8% in the HCC group,100%,100%,and 66.7% in the precancerous group,83.3%,83.3%,and 38.9% in the degeneration group,and no expression in the liver or blood of the control group,respectively.There was a positive correlation between liver GPC-3 mRNA and total RNA level (r=0.475,P<0.05) or liver GPC-3 (r=1.0,P<0.001) or serum GPC-3 (r= 0.994,P<0.001).CONCLUSION:Abnormal oncofetal antigen GPC-3 and GPC-3 mRNA expression in hepatocarcinogenesis may be promising molecular markers for early diagnosis of HCC. | Research Center of Clinical Medicine,Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University,Nantong 226001,China (Yao M,Yao DF,Qiu LW,Wu W,Sai WL,Yang JL and Zhang HJ) Department of Oncology,Yancheng First People’s Hospital,Yancheng 224001,China (Bian YZ) Department of Oncology,Second Affiliated Hospital,Nanjing Medical University,Nanjing 210011,China (Zhang CG) | 2011 | Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Diseases International2011,10,3: | 51 |