Cell proliferation, apoptosis and the related regulators p27, p53 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression of cell apoptosis, proliferation and the related regulators p27, p53 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).


METHODS
The expression of p27, p53, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and apoptosis in 47 HCC specimens and 42 surrounding non-cancerous tissues were detected by the immunohistochemistry and terminal deoxy-nucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique. Meanwhile, the clinical significance of them was analyzed combining with the clinicopathological factors and follow-up data.


RESULTS
(1) The average proliferating index and apoptotic index in HCC were significantly higher than that in adjacent liver tissues. The proliferating index was associated with extrahepatic metastasis. The apoptotic index was significantly lower in TNM stage I-II than in stage III-IV. The proliferating index of groups with p53-/p27+ was significantly lower than that in group with p53+/p27- (P = 0.030); (2) The level of p27 in the cytoplasmic fraction was higher in non-tumoral liver tissues and was associated with clinical stage; (3) Survival analysis showed advanced stage (P = 0.031) and with extrahepatic metastasis (P = 0.045) was significantly associated with shorter survival. In addition, the prognosis of patients with p53-/p27+ was longer than that of patients with p53+/p27- (P = 0.0356).


CONCLUSIONS
The p53 mutation and decreased p27 expression might be involved in the imbalance of proliferation and apoptosis in HCC. Cytoplasmic displacement might lead to the inactivation of p27 protein in HCC cells and acts early during carcinogenesis of HCC. The combined examination of p27, and p53 expression allows reliable estimation of prognosis for patients with primary hepatic carcinoma.
Jing
Zhao
Z
Department of Radiotherapy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, 2 Fuxuexiang, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China. jz96329@163.com
Nan
Ke-Jun
KJ
Hu
Mei-Long
ML
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D050760:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D050760:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27