title: [Expression and significance of the NK cell receptors in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and paracancerous tissues].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the expression of the activating and inhibitory receptors on the surface of NK cells of primary hepatocellular carcinoma and its adjacent tissues, and the relationship between these two receptors and occurrence and development of primary liver cancer was analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  The number and activity of the NK cells, the expression of the activating and the inhibitory receptors on the surface of those cells were detected flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, which were obtained from 52 cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma and its adjacent tissues. The relative analysis was done between those results and clinical relative factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the tissues of primary hepacellular carcinoma, the number of NK cells is lower than that in the adjacent tissues obviously (P<0.01); the expression of activating receptors, NKG2D and NKP44, is also lower than that in the adjacent tissues obviously (P<0.05); the expression of inhibitory receptors, CD158b and CD159a, is significantly higher than that in the adjacent tissues (P<0.05). A negative correlation was found between the expression of NKG2D, NKP30 and NKP44 and the clinical stage of the liver cancer. The expression of NKG2D, NKP30 and NKP44 was higher in patients with early and middle stages (P<0.05). The content of the inhibitory receptors of NK cells, CD158b and CD159a, is higher in tissues from patients with advanced cancer stage (P<0.05). That's also correlated with the level of AFP and the HBsAg. There is no significant statistical difference between the expression of NK receptors and the distant metastasis, tumor differentiation as well as the tumor size (P>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The decrease of NK cell numbers and the activating NK cell receptors and the increase of the inhibitory receptors would be relevant to the incidence of primary hepacellular carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jin-hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Zhi-feng
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jie-yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yun-bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055654:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C / Q000032:analysis; D055655:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K / Q000032:analysis; D055628:Natural Cytotoxicity Triggering Receptor 3 / Q000032:analysis; D054344:Receptors, KIR2DL3 / Q000032:analysis; D055607:Receptors, Natural Killer Cell / Q000032:analysis*; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: C527054:KLRC1 protein, human; C527085:KLRK1 protein, human; C431710:NCR3 protein, human; D055654:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C; D055655:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K; D055628:Natural Cytotoxicity Triggering Receptor 3; D054344:Receptors, KIR2DL3; D055607:Receptors, Natural Killer Cell; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins