原发性肝细胞癌中EphA7蛋白的表达及其临床意义

Expression of EphA7 protein in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical significance

目的探讨酪氨酸蛋白激酶EphA7蛋白在原发性肝细胞癌中的表达及其临床意义。方法应用免疫组化和Westernblot方法检测EphA7蛋白在40例原发性肝细胞癌及相应的癌旁肝组织和10例正常肝组织中的表达情况，并分析其与原发性肝细胞癌的临床病理因素之间的关系。结果EphA7蛋白的表达主要位于原发性肝细胞癌细胞或肝细胞的胞质，以及纤维间隔内的血管内皮细胞。原发性肝细胞癌组织、癌旁肝组织及正常肝组织中均有EphA7蛋白的表达，Westernblot分析结果显示EphA7蛋白在肝细胞癌组织（0．58±0．26）中的表达水平高于癌旁肝组织（0．40±0．22，P〈0．05）和正常肝组织（0．32±0．16，P〈0．05），而在癌旁肝组织和正常肝组织中的表达差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）；EphA7蛋白的表达水平与原发性肝细胞癌细胞的分化程度、门静脉癌栓、淋巴结转移和甲胎蛋白水平等临床病理因素相关（P〈0．05）。结论EphA7蛋白的表达与原发性肝细胞癌的生物学行为密切相关，可能在原发性肝细胞癌的恶性转化、侵袭和转移过程中发挥重要作用。

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of EphA7 protein in primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of EphA7 protein in 40 cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma, their corresponding adjacent liver tissues and 10 cases of normal liver tissues. The relations with its clinical pathological parameters were analyzed too. Results Expression of EphA7 protein was mainly located in the cytoplasm and the blood vessels of the septa, which was found in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, their corresponding adjacent liver tissues and normal liver tissues. Western blot analysis showed that the expression level of EphA7 protein in hepatocellular carcinoma （0, 58 ±0. 26 ） was greater than that in corresponding adjacent liver tissues （0. 40 ±0. 22,P 〈 0. 05 ） and normal liver tissues （ 0. 32 ± 0. 16, P 〈 0. 05 ）. But it had no significant difference between corresponding adjacent liver tissues and normal liver tissues （ P 〉 0. 05 ）. EphA7 protein expression was correlated with histological differentiation, tumor thrombi in portal vein,lymph node metastasis and high AFP level （ P 〈 0. 05 ）. Conclusions EphA7 protein expression is significantly correlated with the biological behavior of primary hepatocellular carcinoma. The high expression of EphA7 protein may play an important role in the malignancy transformation,invasion progression and metastasis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma.