Applicability of the multiplex quantitative antibody array system for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop an early and accurate detection method for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on detection of tumor-associated serum markers using a multiplex quantitative antibody array.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The double-antibody sandwich principle was used to establish an antibody array composed of eight cancer-related serum markers, including alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-b1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Serum samples from 160 cases of clinically diagnosed HCC and from 58 cases of liver cirrhosis (LC; controls) were obtained to test the array. Sixty percent of the samples were randomly selected for use as the training set (HCC, n = 96; LC, n = 36), and the remaining 40% was used as the test set (HCC, n = 64; LC, n = 22). The SPSS statistical software was used to perform logistic regression analysis and to create a diagnostic model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>When used with the training set, the model had sensitivity of 93.3%, specificity of 83.3%, and accuracy of 90.9%. When used with the test set, the model had sensitivity of 89.0%, specificity of 77.3%, and accuracy of 86.0%. The traditional serum AFP value (cut-off value of 20 ng/mL) showed 70.0% diagnostic sensitivity, 59.0% specificity, and 64.0% accuracy.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The newly developed multiplex quantitative antibody detection system has high sensitivity and specificity. The diagnostic model with AFP and seven other cancer-related factors was superior to the traditional AFP only approach for early diagnosis of liver cancer, indicating its potential clinical value.</p>

Identification of metastasis-related osteopontin expression and glycosylation in hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To test expression level and glycosylation level of OPN in HCC cell lines with different metastatic potential and HCC tissues, and investigate the correlation between the glycosylation change and the liver cancer transporting as well as its significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The level of OPN expression in liver cancer tissue(6 cases of non-metastasis and 7 cases of metastasis)as well as HCC cell lines with different metastatic potential (L02, Hep3B, MHCC97L, MHCC97H, HCCLM3, HCCLM6)was identified by immunohistochemistry and Western Blot, and then OPN was purified from HCC tissues by immunoprecipitation, followed by glycosylation detection of OPN from non-metastatic and metastatic HCC tissues by multiple lectin blot. Data were analyzed by t-test and variance analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Different levels of OPN expression were observed in HCC cell lines with different metastatic potential (F = 5.04, P = 0.008). Additionally, OPN expression level in HCC tissues with metastasis was higher than that in non-metastasis group (t = 2.447, P < 0.05). Relative optical density value was 0.69 ± 0.21 and 0.45 ± 0.14 respectively. OPN in liver cancer tissue was successfully purified using immunoprecipitation. Followed lectin blotting result showed that OPN protein in metastasis group showed lower affinity to MAL, PHAE, DSA, ConA as compared with that in non-metastasis group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The expression of OPN was positively correlated with the enhanced metastasis potential of HCC. OPN from metastasis HCC tissues presented lower level of some specific glycan structures such as a2, 3- sialic acid, bisecting GlcNAc, biantennary, muti-antennary and high mannose type N-glycan structure. This study not only indicates the role of OPN in HCC metastasis for the first time, but also provide experimental support for the mechanism of the function of OPN in the transportation of liver cancer cells as well as offer potential target for clinical treatment.</p>

Effects of AKR1B10 gene silence on the growth and gene expression of HCC cell line MHCC97H / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the biological function and possible underlying mechanism of aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) gene during hepatocarcinogenesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A pair of chemically synthesized small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting on AKR1B10 was transfected into liver cancer cell line MHCC97H by LipofectamineTM 2000. After confirming the interfering effects of AKR1B10-siRNAs through Quant SYBR Green polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR), Western blot and enzymatic activity assay, the capabilities of proliferation and apoptosis of the transfected cells were observed by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry analysis, and the expressions of a group of tumor-related gene such as c-myc, c-fos, N-ras were observed through Real-time PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expressions of AKR1B10 and the enzymatic activity were down-regulated significantly in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected cells. Compared with mock and blank control groups, cell growth in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected group was inhibited by 26.6%+/-3.1% at 72h after transfection. The ratio of apoptotic cells was 37.3%+/-1.0% in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected group, which was significantly higher than that in mock and blank control groups (P < 0.01). Real-time PCR showed that the expressions of oncogene c-myc, c-fos and N-ras, and the proliferation-associated gene ki-67 were down-regulated in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected cells, while the expressions of apoptosis-promoting gene caspas-3 and bax were up-regulated.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>AKR1B10 might promote proliferation, inhibit apoptosis and then induce malignant transformation of hepatocytes by regulating the expression level of some tumor-related genes.</p>

Differentially expressed proteins in the precancerous stage of rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by diethylnitrosamine / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To screen the differentially expressed proteins especially at the precancerous stage of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) induced hepatocarcinogenesis by comparative proteome research.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rats were divided into normal and DEN groups and sacrificed periodically. The liver samples were stained with gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and HE to distinguish the preneoplastic lesion (pre-HCC) from the normal and HCC tissues. The two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS/MS) were then applied to analyze the differentially expressed protein between pre-HCC and normal tissues, pre-HCC and HCC, as well as HCC and normal tissues. A few of the candidate proteins such as laminin receptor 1 (67LR) and agmatinase were validated by Western blot and RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally, there were 82 proteins that differentially expressed two fold or more in one kind of tissues sample than the other, 47 of which occurred in the pre-HCC tissues. Eight proteins including 67LR were consistently up-regulated from normal tissue to pre-HCC and then to HCC tissues, while 22 proteins including agmatinase showed progressively down-regulated in these tissues samples.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The protein expression profiles are different during the process of hepatocarcinogenesis. Further study on the differentially expressed protein, especially these upregulated in the precancerous stage such as 67LR and agmatinase, might contribute to prevention and early diagnosis of human HCC.</p>

Comparison of the serum proteomes of pathological stages during hepatocarcinogenesis / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the 2-DE profiles for serum proteins of different pathological stages during hepatocarcinogenesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sera from hepatocellular carcinoma patients, cirrhosis patients, chronic hepatitis patients and healthy controls were collected. After sonication, albumin and immunoglobulin (IgG) depletion, and desalination, sera were subjected to 2-DE, the differential protein spots were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. Western blot was used to validate these differentially expressed proteins.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>2-DE sera protein profiles were obtained from the patient suffering from HCC, liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, healthy controls in each group. From optimized 2-DE gel images of the above groups, 96 protein spots with more than 2-fold difference in intensity between the two groups were selected by image master 6.0 software, differential proteins including haptoglobin, SAA1 and SP40 were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS. 7 different spots within more than 30 protein spots belonged to the same haptoglobin family. The differential expression of haptoglobin was confirmed by western blot.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Four protein expression patterns have been identified during the pathological stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. Haptoglobin is significantly increased from liver cirrhosis to HCC. It implies that haptoglobin might be a potential biomarker in the early diagnosis of liver cancer.</p>

Analysis of the expression of Slit/Robo genes and the methylation status of their promoters in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the expression of genes in the Slit/Robo signaling pathway, and the methylation status of their promoters in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genomic DNA and total RNA were isolated from 9 HCC cell lines of different metastatic ability (Hep3B, HepG2, PLC/PRF/5, SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, MHCC97-H, MHCC97-L, LM3, LM6) and a control cell line L-02. The expression profiles of Slit1, Slit2, Slit3, Robo1, and Robo3 were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The methylation status of the promoters was detected by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The promoters of Slit1, Slit2 and Slit3 genes were almost methylated in all the HCC cell lines. The Slit1 and Slit3 RNAs were not detected in most of the cell lines. Furthermore, the mRNA Slit2 was decreased gradually as the metastatic potential of the cell lines increased. As the candidate ligand of the Slit2 gene, Robo1 was frequently methylated in HCC cell lines whereas its mRNA was detected in all of these cells except SMMC-7721, BEL-7402 and L-02. Robo3 was unmethylated in HCC cell lines while its mRNA was not detected in these HCC cell lines.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The hypermethylation status of Slit/Robo signaling pathway related genes is a universal event in the HCC. The hypermethylation status of Slit1, Slit2, Slit3 genes associated with the loss of expression or reduced expression. Those data suggest that Slit/Robo pathway may play a significant role in the progress or metastasis of HCC.</p>

Protein profiles of multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma with multicentric occurrence or with intrahepatic metastasis / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the protein expression profiles of multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with multicentric occurrence (MO) or with intrahepatic metastasis (IM).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>5 IM and 6 MO patients were divided into groups of IM1, IM2, MO1 and MO2 according to the size of node of HCC. Two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrum were used to analyze the protein expression profiles. Western blot was used to confirm the results obtained by mass spectrum.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>2-DE of IM1, IM2, MO1 and MO2 indicated that 30 protein dots were differentially expressed in these tumors. By mass spectrum, 25 proteins were identified. Gene ontology classification indicated that these proteins are associated to cell movement, signal transduction, oxidoreduction, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The protein expression profiles of IM is different from that of MO, 2-DE and mass spectrum can be used to identify the molecular markers of IM and MO of HCC.</p>

Screening for differential methylation status by CpG island microarray in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To profile the methylation alterations of CpG islands in hetpatocellular carcinoma cell lines.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A global analysis of DNA methylation using the Human CpG-island 12K Array (HCGI12K) from Canada University Health Network was performed on nine human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines (Hep3B, HepG2, PLC/RPF/5/RPF/5, SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, MHCC97-H, MHCC97-L, HCCLM3, HCCLM6) and a control cell line Chang's liver. Metastatic potential related alterations were also screened in MHCC97 series cell lines (MHCC97-H, MHCC97-L, HCCLM3, HCCLM6), using MHCC97-L, a cell line with low metastatic potential, as control. To screen the key genes which are hypermethylation or hypomethylation in the HCC cell lines compared with the normal liver cell line by normalization processing and cluster analysis of microarray data. Two randomly selected genes was analyzed by methylation specific PCR to verify the chip results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>By a standard of methylation alteration ratio > or = 2 or < or = 0.5, fifty-eight CpG island cloning sites and sixty-six upstream or downstream tumor-related genes were identified. The genes were oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes and their ligand genes, apoptosis-related genes, cell proliferation and differentiation genes, cell cycle-related gene and cell signaling pathway key genes such as Wnt, ras, and FGF pathway-related genes. The methylation specific PCR results were consistent with those obtained by chips.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results of this study demonstrate that there are a series of CpG island methylation alterations in HCC cell lines. The expression of many oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes and other key genes may be up- or down-regulated, respectively, because of their CpG island hypomethylation or hypermethylation accordingly. It may provide a basis for screening HCC biological markers by CpG island methylation profilling.</p>

Analysis of gene expression profile during malignant transformation of rat liver oval-like cells / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes of gene expression profile during malignant transformation of rat liver oval-like cells and to analyze the significances of these changes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>MNNG initiated WB-F344 cells were exposed to H2O2 once a week (repeated 21 times) to induce their malignant transformation. The characteristics of the transformed cells were confirmed by morphology, genetics and soft agar assay. Then, gene expression profiles of the transformed cells at different time points were evaluated using rat Cancer PathwayFinder Oligo Microarray.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The transformed cells possessed heteroploid karyotypes with anchoring-independent growth characteristics. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the transformed cells had more cellular organelles, gap junctions and microvilli than the controls. The 21 differential expression genes were mainly involved in regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion and motility. The expression of PTEN was gradually up-regulated and cdkn1a was gradually down-regulated in three groups of cells. Myc, fos, and casp-8 were first up-regulated in WB-5 cells and then down-regulated in WB-21 cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The disorder of proliferation and apoptosis may play an important role in malignant transformation of WB cells. Cdkn1a, PTEN, myc and fos may be crucial factors involved in the process.</p>

Proteomic analysis of hepatitis B virus-infected human liver tissues / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To search for the difference of protein molecules expression of HBV infection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Specimens taken from human normal liver tissues (group A), HBV infected human liver tissues which were HBsAg positive, and HBsAg, anti-HBe, and anti-HBc positive in serum (group B) were analysed through the methods of 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS/MS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally 1125 plus/minus 56 (n=3) spots were detected in the sample of group A, 1203 plus/minus 42 (n=3) in group B samples. The percent volume of the protein spots was compared to show the proteome alteration in HBV infected human liver tissues. Forty proteins were found to present variations of two or more than two fold in quantity and 22 differentially expressed protein sports were finally identified by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS, including human mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase, haptoglobin Hp2, peroxiredoxin 2, etc.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The protein profile of human normal liver tissue and HBV infected liver tissues showed obviously difference.</p>

Screening low molecular weight protein biomarkers relevant to portal vein tumor thrombi in serum of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To screen low molecular weight protein biomarkers relevant to portal vein tumor thrombi (PVTT) in serum of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum samples were obtained from 12 healthy volunteers, 12 HCC patients without PVTT and 12 HCC patients with PVTT. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) in which the second dimension was 16% SDS-PAGE, serum protein images of the 3 groups were analyzed by ImageMaster software. The differential protein spots were further identified by MALDI-TOF MS/MS.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Comparing the results using 12.5% SDS-PAGE gel, there were more protein bands (between 3 x 10(3) and 20 x 10(3)) and low molecular weight (MW) protein spots (less than 20 x 10(3)) were clearly shown in the 16% SDS-PAGE gel. Fifteen differential protein spots representing 5 proteins were found in the 3 groups by inter-class comparison and they were then identified. Compared with those in the healthy group, apolipoprotein A-I, lipoprotein CIII, transthyretin and DNA topoisomerase II were all down regulated in HCC groups and haptoglobin-2 was over expressed. All 5 proteins decreased more in the PVTT group than in the non-PVTT group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The expression of low MW serum protein obviously changes in the beginning and in the progressive stage of HCC, and differentially expressed low MW proteins might be potential biomarkers in an early prognostic prediction and surveillance in the treatment for HCC and PVTT.</p>