title: Expression of CCN family members correlates with the clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Studies have reported that the CCN family of proteins plays an important role in stimulating tumorigenesis. However, the relationship between the CCN protein family members and the features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the expression levels of CCN protein family members and the features of HCC. Expression levels of the CCN family of proteins in 80-paired primary HCC samples and 11 normal liver samples were determined by a quantitative real-time PCR assay. Enhanced expression of nephroblastoma overexpressed protein (NOV) and decreased expression of Wnt-induced secreted protein 1 (WISP1), cysteine-rich protein 61 (CYR61) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were found in HCC samples when compared to levels in matched non-cancerous tissues. No significant difference in WISP2 was found between matched-pair samples; only a few samples showed WISP3 expression. Furthermore, the expression levels of NOV, WISP1 and CYR61 were closely correlated with certain clinical features, including venous invasion, cellular differentiation, pTNM stage, disease-free survival and overall survival. Our results suggest that HCC progression may be enhanced by NOV and suppressed by WISP1 and CYR61. Our statistical analysis suggests that these proteins may be valuable in determining the prognosis of this deadly disease and directs attention to modulating the levels of these proteins as a potential mode of therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Heyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pinbo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Medical Research Center, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lehang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Dechen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: H Phillip
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Koeffler
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Medical Research Center, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D055511:CCN Intercellular Signaling Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis; D055515:Cysteine-Rich Protein 61 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055514:Nephroblastoma Overexpressed Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D055511:CCN Intercellular Signaling Proteins; C501848:CCN1 protein, human; C526317:CCN2 protein, human; C526319:CCN3 protein, human; C116396:CCN4 protein, human; C413323:CCN5 protein, human; C400081:CCN6 protein, human; D055515:Cysteine-Rich Protein 61; D055514:Nephroblastoma Overexpressed Protein; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor