Abstract
Identification of gene products exclusively or abundantly expressed in cancer may yield novel tumour markers. We recently isolated a number of cDNA clones, including alpha-prothymosin, from rat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a subtraction-enhanced display technique. Alpha-Prothymosin is involved in cell proliferation and is regulated by the oncogene c-myc in vitro. In the present study, we analysed alpha-prothymosin gene expression and its correlation with c-myc in patients with HCC, cirrhosis and adenoma and in normal controls. Hepatic alpha-prothymosin messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were two- to 9.2-fold higher in tumoral tissues than in adjacent non-tumoral tissues in 14 of 17 patients with HCC, regardless of coexisting cirrhosis and viral hepatitis. No marked difference in alpha-prothymosin mRNA levels was present in patients with adenoma and hepatic cirrhosis and in healthy controls. The c-myc mRNA amounts were two- to fivefold increased in 11 of 17 patients with HCC and correlated significantly with those of alpha-prothymosin (P < 0.001). In situ hybridization revealed that increased alpha-prothymosin mRNA was localized in the tumour nodules of the patients with HCC. These data suggest that overexpression of alpha-prothymosin in HCC patients, correlated with c-myc, is possibly involved in the tumorigenic process and may be a novel molecular marker for human HCC.
Highlights
We have previously reported that, by using the subtraction-enhanced display technique, a number of cDNA clones including c-myc, a-tocopherol transfer protein (a-TTJFP), glutathione-S transferase (GST) and ferritin-H were identified and shown to be differentially expressed during hepatic carcinogenesis (Wu et al, 1996, 1997a)
ND, not detected; T/N, ratio of messenger RNA (mRNA) from tumoral tissue to that from non-tumoral tissue, which is standardized by 28S rRNA; values with * are ratios of hepatic a-prothymosin and c-myc mRNA levels in cirrhotic patients to the mean values of three healthy controls; HCV/HBV, hepatitis C and/or B virus
We showed that hepatic mRNA levels of a-prothymosin were significantly higher in the tumoral tissues than those in the corresponding non-tumoral tissues in 14 of 17 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), irrespective of coexisting cirrhosis or HBV and/or HCV hepatitis
Summary
ND, not detected; T/N, ratio of mRNA from tumoral tissue to that from non-tumoral tissue (cases 1-17 are HCC; cases 18-21 are adenoma), which is standardized by 28S rRNA; values with * are ratios of hepatic a-prothymosin and c-myc mRNA levels in cirrhotic patients (cases 22-27) to the mean values of three healthy controls (cases 28-30); HCV/HBV, hepatitis C and/or B virus. Expression of a-prothymosin and c-myc in liver tissues of patients with HCC, adenoma and cirrhosis and of healthy controls
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