title: Significance of autoantibodies against insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding proteins in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Autoantibodies against insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding proteins (IMPs) were analyzed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to elucidate the significance of these autoantibodies. Five of 86 (5.8%) HCC patients had one or more of these autoantibodies. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels ranged within normal limits in HCC patients seropositive for anti-IMPs except for one case. One of HCC patients had anti-IMP1 and anti-IMP3 before the diagnosis of HCC. On the other hand, overexpressions of IMP1 and IMP2 in the tumor tissues were observed in 2 (28.6%) and 3 (42.9%) of 7 HCC tissues, respectively. One HCC patient with IMP1/2-overexpression in the tumor tissue had anti-IMP1/2, while the other HCC patients with overexpressions of IMP1/2 in the tumors did not have anti-IMP1/2. These findings may suggest that autoantibodies against IMPs are produced in an antigen-driven immune system and that anti-IMPs seem to be supplementary serological markers for the diagnosis of HCC in AFP-negative cases or predictive markers of HCC.
authors.affiliation: W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Himoto
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuriyama
authors.forename: Jian-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Edward K L
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishioka
authors.forename: Eng M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000378:metabolism*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II