Glypican-3 expression and its relationship with recurrence of HCC after liver transplantation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the diagnostic value of glypican-3 (GPC3) and its relationship with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation.


METHODS
HCC tissue samples (n = 31) obtained from patients who had undergone liver transplantation were analyzed. GPC3 mRNA and protein expression were analyzed by TaqMan real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Correlation between the GPC3 expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed. The potential prognostic value of GPC3 was investigated by comparing recurrence-free survival between HCC patients with and without GPC3 expression.


RESULTS
Using a cutoff value of 3.5 × 10⁻², 20 of 31 cancerous tissues had expression values of > 3.5 × 10⁻², whereas 3 of 31 adjacent non-neoplastic parenchyma and 0 of 20 control liver tissues had expression values of > 3.5 × 10⁻² (P < 0.001). GPC3 protein was immunoexpressed in 68% of cancerous tissues, but not in adjacent non-neoplastic parenchyma and control liver tissues. Vascular invasion was significantly related to GPC3 expression (P < 0.05). Recurrence-free survival was significantly longer for patients without GPC3 mRNA overexpression (> 3.5 × 10⁻²) and those without vascular invasion (P < 0.05 for both).


CONCLUSIONS
GPC3 expression may serve as a valuable diagnostic marker for HCC. GPC3 mRNA overexpression may be an adverse indicator for HCC patients after liver transplantation.
Department of Transplantation Surgery, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Key Laboratory for Critical Care Medicine of the Ministry of Health, Tianjin 300192, China.
Yu-Liang
YL
Wang
Zhi-Jun
ZJ
Zhu
Da-Hong
DH
Teng
Zhi
Z
Yao
Wei
W
Gao
Zhong-Yang
ZY
Shen
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D053673:Glypicans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C105937:GPC3 protein, human; D053673:Glypicans; D012333:RNA, Messenger