Correlations between DHT/AR and ATAD2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the expression of androgen receptor(AR),ATAD2 in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) and the correlations with clinicopathological features,and the role of DHT/AR and ATAD2 in proliferation of HCC cells.Methods The samples of 75 patients with HCC in the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University from February 2012 to December 2012 were collected.LM3 and Huh7 cells were divided into control group,DHT group,DHT + CDX (bicalutamide) group and CDX group;and also divided into Ri-ATAD2 group (adding interference fragments) and Ri-C group (adding control vector sequence).Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of AR and ATAD2,and to analyze the correlations between clinical features and survival of patients.Real-time PCR and Western Blot were used to detect the expression of AR and ATAD2,and CCK-8 was used to detect cell proliferation.Results HCC patient samples were grouped according to AR and ATAD2 expression.Compared with low AR expression group (n =31),the ratio of tumor ＜5 cm in high expression group (n =44) was higher,and the ratio of TNM stage Ⅰ + Ⅱ was lower.Compared with low ATAD2 expression group (n=35),the ratio of metastasis and tumor differentiation grade Ⅲ + Ⅳ was higher in high expression group (n=40),and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).The overall survival rate of patients with high expression of ATAD2 was lower than other patients,and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that ATAD2 expression (HR=1.935,95％ CI1.066～3.515) and metastasis (HR=2.212,95％ CI1.059～4.619) were independent predictors of poor prognosis.Compared with LO2 cells,the mRNA and protein level of AR and ATAD2 in LM3 and Huh7 cells were significantly higher,and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).And the proliferation rate of HCC cells increased significantly after 48 and 72 hours compared with the control group,and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).After adding CDX,the proliferation of LM3 and Huh7 induced by DHT was inhibited.DHT enhanced the expression of ATAD2,while CDX inhibited the expression of ATAD2.The expression of ATAD2 protein decreased when LM3 and Huh7 cells were interfered.Compared with Ri-C group,the proliferation of HCC cells in Ri-ATAD2 group decreased significantly after the DHT treatment 48 and 72 hours,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusions DHT/AR promoted the proliferation of HCC cells by inducing ATAD2 expression.Modulating ATAD2 expression may be the potential mechanism of DHT/AR in HCC proliferation.