Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine the expression and significance of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1), β‑catenin and cyclin D1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 24 samples of HCC and adjacent normal tissues were analyzed. The expression of Pin1, β‑catenin and cyclin D1 in HCC were detected using immunohistochemistry, western blot analysis, polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence. The expression of Pin1, β‑catenin and cyclin D1 in HCC tissues were significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues. Pin1 was not markedly expressed in the adjacent normal tissues, while expression in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HCC cells was high. However, β‑catenin and cyclin D1 only revealed a weak expression in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HCC cells. Immunoprecipitation analyses demonstrated two clear bands at 19 and 34 kDa, and a brown band at 55 kDa as expected. Immunofluorescence analysis of HCC cells indicated that Pin1 was present in the cytoplasm and nucleus, and β‑catenin and cyclin D1 were present in the nucleus. In conclusion, the present study indicated that Pin1, β‑catenin and cyclin D1 were highly expressed in HCC. Therefore, detection of the expression of Pin1, β‑catenin and cyclin D1 may be useful for the development of novel diagnostic and treatment strategies for HCC.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer type in males and the second leading cause of cancer‐associated mortality
The present study indicated that prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1), β‐catenin and cyclin D1 are closely correlated with HCC [30]
This suggests that the interaction of Pin1 and its targets is involved in regulating the cell cycle and depends on mitotic phosphorylation, demonstrating that specific phosphorylation is an important signal transduction mechanism [33]. β‐catenin is an important regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation, and coordinates the mediation of cell‐cell adhesion and gene transcription [31]. β‐catenin acts in the Wnt signaling pathway, which activates the transcription of crucial target genes responsible for cellular proliferation and differentiation, controls E‐cadherin‐mediated cell adhesion at the plasma membrane and mediates the interplay of adherent junction molecules with the actin cytoskeleton [31]
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer type in males and the second leading cause of cancer‐associated mortality. An estimated 748,300 new HCC cases and 695,900 cancer‐associated mortalities occurred worldwide in 2008 [1]. The pathways of HCC development are heterogeneous and affected by various genetic and environmental factors, including A wide range of proteins that demonstrated high expression levels in HCC tissue have been identified, including Pin, β‐catenin and cyclin D1 [8,9]
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