title: Liver p53 expression in patients with HCV-related chronic hepatitis.
abstract: Mutated p53 acts as a dominant oncogene and alterations in the p53 gene are described in a large number of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It has been demonstrated that hepatitis C virus (HCV)-core protein regulates transcriptionally cellular genes, as well as cell growth and apoptosis. This study was undertaken to evaluate whether p53 may be expressed also in a precocious stage of HCV-related liver damage. We studied p53 expression by immunoluminometric assay on liver samples from 40 patients (M/F 18/ 22, median age 44 years, range 13-64 years) with biopsy-proven HCV-related chronic hepatitis. We considered the following factors: degree of liver damage, liver iron content and HCV-RNA titre. We also evaluated as possible co-factors alcohol and food intake in the last 3 years. p53 was over-expressed in seven of 40 (17.5%) patients. Liver histology documented the presence of unexpected cirrhosis in two patients among the p53 positive subjects. The p53 positive group had a daily ethanol intake significantly higher in respect to that of the p53 negative group (P < 0.05). Alimentary history documented that patients with a p53 over-expression had a lower intake of total calories, monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin C and riboflavin. Data indicate that p53 over-expression can occur even in initial stages of HCV-related liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Institute of Pathology and Oncology, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loguercio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuomo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tuccillo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gazzerro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cioffi
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Del Vecchio Blanco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012016:Reference Values; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53