Oxidored-nitro domain-containing protein 1 expression is associated with the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocarcinogenesis is a stepwise process during which multiple genes are altered. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that induce hepatocarcinogenesis may improve the screening, prevention and treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In recent years, the oxidored-nitro domain-containing protein 1 (NOR1) gene has been identified to have an important role in the development of HCCin vitroexperiments. The current study aimed to examine the expression of NOR1 mRNA and protein expression in specimens of normal liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC, together representing the process of HCC development. Furthermore, the association between NOR1 expression and clinicopathological parameters of HCC patients was analyzed. Tissue microarrays containing the specimens of human normal liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC were purchased, andin situhybridization and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of NOR1 mRNA and protein expression, respectively. It was revealed that the positive rate of NOR1 protein and mRNA expression in the specimens of hepatitis and cirrhosis were not significantly different from that in the normal liver samples. However, the specimens of HCC exhibited an increased positive rate of NOR1 protein and mRNA expression in comparison with the normal liver samples. In addition, a higher positive rate of NOR1 protein expression was observed in HCC patients with a poor pathological differentiation grade and high tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence, for the first time, of the increased expression of NOR1 in human HCC tissues, and its correlation with the pathological stage and TNM status. These findings indicate that NOR1 may be involved in the progression of HCC and it could be employed as a predictive biomarker in HCC development.
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
Deng-Qing
DQ
Li
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
Ming
M
Qiu
Clinical Laboratory Centre of The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
Xin-Min
XM
Nie
Clinical Laboratory Centre of The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
Rong
R
Gui
Public Health School of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410078, P.R. China.
Min-Zhu
MZ
Huang
cirrhosis; clinicopathological parameters; hepatitis; hepatocellular carcinoma; oxidored-nitro domain-containing protein 1