ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Activins and inhibins belong to the TGFß-superfamily, which controls cell proliferation and differentiation in many organs. Activin A, the dimer of inhibin ßA subunit, acts strongly anti-proliferative in hepatocytes. Little is known on the other activin/inhibin subunits in human liver and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We studied the expression of the complete inhibin family α, ßA, ßB, ßC, ßE in normal liver, tumour-adjacent and HCC tissue, 12 additional organs and rodent liver. A total of 16 HCC and 10 disease-free livers were analysed. Expression of inhibin subunits was determined by qRT-PCR, normalised to RNA input and by geNorm algorithm, and confirmed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Remarkably, ßA expression was not decreased in HCC. Similarly, ßC and ßE exhibited no major changes. In contrast, inhibin α, barely detectable in normal liver, was strongly increased in tumour-adjacent liver and dramatically enhanced in HCC. ßB was strongly enhanced in some HCC. At variance with human liver, rodent liver showed higher inhibin α and ßC expression, but ßA was somewhat, and ßB dramatically lower. CONCLUSIONS: Upregulation of inhibin α - and possibly of ßB - may shield HCC cells from anti-proliferative effects of activin A. Dramatic variations between humans and rodents may reflect different functions of some inhibins/activins.
