Significance of clinicopathology and expression of heat shock protein 72 and glycoprotein 96 in human hepatocellular carcinomas

Abstract

Heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) and glycoprotein 96 (gp96) are highly expressed in cancer tissues. Recent studies indicate the possible roles of HSP72 and gp96 in the development and progression of gastrointestinal carcinomas, but detailed information is still ambiguous. The aim of the study is to investigate the correlation between clinicopathology and immunolocalization of HSP72 and gp96 in human hepatocellular carcinoma. The expression of HSP72 and gp96 was studied in human hepatocellular carcinomas with or without metastasis as well as in tissues adjacent to cancer by way of immunohistochemistry. Messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA)-gene expression levels of HSP72 and gp96 were determined by quantitative real-time real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after mRNA extraction. The expression of HSP72 and gp96 has a correlation with the differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma. HSP72 and gp96 expression in hepatocellular carcinomas with lymph node and organ metastasis was significantly higher than those with non-metastasis. The results indicate that there exists a significant correlation between the expression of HSP72 and gp96 and the progression of hepatocellular carcinomas. HSP72 and gp96 expression were significantly associated with the presence of tumor infiltration, lymph node and remote metastasis. The expression characters of HSP72 and gp96 in tumors may contribute to study the pathogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Key words: Heat shock protein 72(HSP72), glycoprotein 96(gp96), hepatocellular carcinoma, clinicopathology, prognosis.