title: Quantitative analysis of aldolase A mRNA in liver discriminates between hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic liver diseases can progress to cirrhosis and to hepatocellular carcinoma. Timely and unequivocal recognition of the neoplastic evolution of cirrhosis is critical. To this aim, we used a noncompetitive reverse transcription-PCR procedure to analyze aldolase A mRNA in liver tissue from patients with chronic liver diseases at different stages.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 12 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, 19 patients affected by chronic hepatitis C or cirrhosis, and 7 healthy controls. Aldolase A mRNA was reverse-transcribed to cDNA, which was then amplified by PCR. The amplified segments were "read" with a novel dot-blot procedure. A calibrator with the same sequence, synthesized in vitro using a T7 phage promoter, was processed at scalar dilutions in parallel to the target samples to generate a calibration curve and so quantify the target mRNA (detection limit, 0.03 amol; linearity spanning five orders of magnitude).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Aldolase A mRNA was approximately 10-fold higher in liver biopsies from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma vs patients with chronic hepatitis C or cirrhosis, and healthy individuals. Furthermore, aldolase A mRNA concentrations were 1.2- to 21.3-fold higher in 12 liver biopsies compared with the paired surrounding cirrhotic tissue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quantitative analysis of liver tissue aldolase A mRNA differentiates between nonneoplastic chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma, which suggests that it has diagnostic potential.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biotecnologie Mediche and CEINGE scarl, Cattedra di Gastroenterologia, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Napoli "Federico II", I-80131 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castaldo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calcagno
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sibillo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cuomo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nardone
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castellano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Del Vecchio Blanco
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Budillon
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salvatore
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase