Antigen epitopes of animal coronaviruses:a mini-review

Coronaviruses are widespread in nature and can infect mammals and poultry,making them a public health concern.Globally,prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging animal coronaviruses is a great challenge.The mecha-nisms of virus-mediated immune responses have important implications for research on virus prevention and control.The antigenic epitope is a chemical group capable of stimulating the production of antibodies or sensitized lympho-cytes,playing an important role in antiviral immune responses.Thus,it can shed light on the development of diagnos-tic methods and novel vaccines.Here,we have reviewed advances in animal coronavirus antigenic epitope research,aiming to provide a reference for the prevention and control of animal and human coronaviruses.

Recent advances in the study of epitopes,allergens and immunologic cross-reactivity of edible mango

Mango(Mangifera indica L.)is a tropical fruit that is widely consumed as both fresh fruits and processed products around the world.The high incidence of mango allergy,on the other hand,has sparked widespread concern.Therefore,a summary and analysis of the current status and issues in mango allergen research can guide in-depth study on the mechanism of mango allergy and reveal effective desensitization methods.We described the incidence of fruit allergy,as well as the mechanism and clinical symptoms of mango allergy,in this review.We also looked into the structural properties of mango allergens,the effect of processing methods on mango allergens,prediction methods for mango allergen epitopes,and the current state of research on mango cross-reactive allergens and preventive measures.Finally,the research directions and ideas for the future are proposed and discussed.

A Comparative Study on the Effect of BCG-PSN and Thymopeptides on T-lymphocyte Subsets of Normal and Immunosuppressed Mice

To compare the effects of polysaccharide nucleic acid fraction of bacillus calmette guerin (BCG PSN) and thymopeptides on T lymphocytes of normal and immunosuppressed mice, CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocyte subsets of single nucleic cell in thymus, spleen and peripheral blood were detected successively by flow cytometry after application of BCG PSN and thymopeptides. Meanwhile, CD4 +/CD8 + ratio was also calculated. The results showed that both BCG PSN and thymopeptides could decrease the proportion of CD4 + CD8 + T lymphocyte subsets in the thymus, at the same time increase CD4 + T lymphocyte, CD8 +T lymphocyte proportion in the three tissues. The fluctuation in amplitude was greater in thymopeptides group than that in BCG PSN group. It is concluded that acting location of thymopeptides is in thymus, its stimulating action is stronger than that of BCG PSN, while BCG PSN not only accelerates the differentiation in thymus, but also has some direct stimulation to peripheral CD4 +T lymphocytes, and can maintain CD4 +/CD8 + ratio within normal range. So, BCG PSN is safer.

Effect of copper excess on peripheral blood T-lymphocytes in the chicken

Experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of copper excess on the peripheral blood T-lymphocyte by the methods of flow cytometry （FCM） and experimental pathology. 420 one-day-old Avian chickens were randomly divided into seven groups, and fed on diets as follows： 1. controls （Cu 11mg/kg） and 2. copper excess （ Cu 100mg/kg, copper excess group Ⅰ; Cu 200mg/kg, copper excess group Ⅱ; Cu 30（hng/kg, copper excess group Ⅲ; Cu 400mg/kg, copper excess group Ⅳ; Cu 500mg/kg, copper excess group Ⅴ; Cu 600mg/kg, copper excess group VI） for six weeks. The results were as follows- 1 ） In thymus, lymphocytes in the medulla were decreased in number in copper excess groups Ⅲ,Ⅳ,Ⅴ, and Ⅵ, and the increased and enlarged thymic corpuscles and the proliferated reticular cells were also observed in both copper excess group V and copper excess group VI in comparison with those of control group. 2） The percentage of CD4＋ T cells was markedly decreased from 2 to 6 weeks of age in copper excess groups Ⅳ, Ⅴ and Ⅵ （P 〈0.05 or P 〈0.01）. 3） The percentage of CD8＋ T cell was not varied in six copper excess groups during the experiment when compared with that of control group （ P 〉 0.05 ）. 4） The CD4 ＋ / CD8＋ ratio was lower from 2 to 6 weeks of age in copper excess groups Ⅳ, Ⅴ and VI than in control group （ P 〈0.05 or P 〈0.01）. 5） It was concluded that dietary copper in excess of 300mg / kg suppressed the development of T-lymphocytes and reduced the percentage of CD4＋ T cells and the CD4＋/CD8＋ ratio, and resulted in pathological injury of the thymus. Cellular immune function was finally impaired.

Bioinformatics Analysis on B cell Epitopes of Rice Allergen RAG1

[Objective] To predict the secondary structure and B cell epitopes of the rice major allergen RAG1. [Method] The amino acid sequence of rice allergen RAG1 was acquired from Expasy protein database. The secondary structure of RAG1 was predicted by DNAStar Protean software with Gamier-Robson program, Chou-Fasman program and Karplus-Schulz program; the B cell epitopes of RAG1 was predicted with the Kyte Doolittle hydrophilic program, Emini surface accessibility program and Jameson-Wolf antigenic index program. [Result] The predictions on secondary structure and B cell epitopes showed that the regions of 33-44, 119-129, 155-163 were the dominant B cell epitopes. [Conclusion] This study predicted the potential dominant B cell epitopes in rice allergen RAG1 by comprehensive use of multi-methods and multi-parameters, and provided a theoretical basis for further researches on identification, antigen modification and epitope vaccine design of RAG1 B cell epitopes.

Bioinformatics analysis of the structure and linear B-cell epitopes of aquaporin-3 from Schistosoma japonicum

Objective:To analyze the structure of aquaporins-3(AQP-3) from Schistosoma japonicum(SJAQP-3) using bioinformalical methods,and to provid of references for vaccine targets research.Methods:Protparam,BepiPred,TMHMM Server,MLRC,Geno3d,DNA star software packages were used to predict the physical and chemical properties,hydrophilicity plot, flexibility regions,antigenic index,surface probability plot,secondary structure,and tertiary structure of amino acid sequence of SJAQP-3.Results:SJAQP-3 had six transmembrane regions and two half-spanning helices that form a central channel.The half-spanning helices fold into the centre of the channel.Either of the half-spanning helix had a conserved motif of NPA common to all aquaporins.Predicted linear B-Cell epitopes were most likely at the N-terminal amino acid residues of Saa-7aa,59aa- 62aa,225aa-230aa,282aa -288aa,294aa -29Saa and 305aa -307aa area.59aa- 62aa,22Saa-230aa located outside the membrane,the others located inside the cell.Conclusions:SJAQP-3 is a integral membrane protein in Schistosoma japonicum tegument.There are six potential epitopes in SJ AQP-3.It might be a potential molecular target for the development of vaccines.

The Prediction of B Cell Epitopes for VP73 Protein of African Fever Virus

[Objective] The B cell epitopes for VP73 protein of African swine fever virus was predicted. [ Method] Based on the analysis of the amino acid sequence and the flexible regions of VP73 protein, the B cell epitopes for VP73 protein of African swine fever virus were predicted by method of Kyte-Doolittie, Emini and Jameson-Wolf. [Result] The B cell epitopes were located at or adjacent to the N-terminal No. 11 - 18,26 -48,73 -82,136 - 150,159 - 174,181 - 189,191 - 210,247 - 276,279 - 295,313 - 323 and 382 - 392. [Conclusion] The multi-parameters analytic method was adopted to predict the B cell epitopes for VP73 protein of African swine fever virus, which laid solid foundation for further characterizing the protein of VP73 and researching epitope vaccine.

Prediction of T cell and B cell epitopes of the 22-, 47-, 56-, and 58-kDa proteins of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Objective:To predict B cell and T cell epitopes of 22-kDa,47-kDa,56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins.Methods:The sequences of 22-kDa,47-kDa,56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins which were derived from Orientia tsutsugamushi were analyzed by SOPMA,DNAstar,Bcepred,ABCpred,NetMHC,NetMHCⅡand IEDB.The 58-kDa tertiary structure model was built by MODELLER9.17.Results:The 22-kDa B-cell epitopes were located at positions 194-200,20-26 and 143-154,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 154-174,95-107,17-25 and 57-65.The 47-kD a protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 413-434,150-161 and 283-322,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 129-147,259-267,412-420 and 80-88.The 56-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 167-173,410-419 and 101-108,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 88-104,429-439,232-240 and 194-202.The 58-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 312-317,540-548 and 35-55,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 415-434,66-84 and 214-230.Conclusions:We identified candidate epitopes of 22-kDa,47-kDa,56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins from Orientia tsutsugamushi.In the case of 58-kDa,the dominant antigen is displayed on tertiary structure by homology modeling.Our findings will help target additional recombinant antigens with strong specificity,high sensitivity,and stable expression and will aid in their isolation and purification.

Quasispecies dynamics in main core epitopes of hepatitis B virus by ultra-deep-pyrosequencing

AIM:To investigate the variability of the main immunodominant motifs of hepatitis B virus(HBV) core gene by ultra-deep-pyrosequencing(UDPS).METHODS:Four samples(2 genotype A and 2 genotype D) from 4 treatment-na ve patients were assessed for baseline variability.Two additional samples from one patient(patient 4,genotype D) were selected for analysis:one sample corresponded to a 36-mo treatment-free period from baseline and the other to the time of viral breakthrough after 18 mo of lamivudine treatment.The HBV region analyzed covered amino acids 40 to 95 of the core gene,and included the two main epitopic regions,Th50-69 and B74-84.UDPS was carried out in the Genome Sequencer FLX system(454 Life Sciences,Roche).After computer filtering of UDPS data based on a Poisson statistical model,122 813 sequences were analyzed.The most conserved position detected by UDPS was analyzed by site-directed mutagenesis and evaluated in cell culture.RESULTS:Positions with highest variability rates were mainly located in the main core epitopes,confirming their role as immune-stimulating regions.In addition,the distribution of variability showed a relationship with HBV genotype.Patient 1(genotype A) presented the lowest variability rates and patient 2(genotype A) had 3 codons with variability higher than 1%.Patient 3 and 4(both genotype D) presented 5 and 8 codons with variability higher than 1%,respectively.The median baseline frequencies showed that genotype A samples had higher variability in epitopic positions than in the other positions analyzed,approaching significance(P = 0.07,sample 1 and P = 0.05,sample 2).In contrast,there were no significant differences in variability between the epitopic and other positions in genotype D cases.Interestingly,patient 1 presented a completely mutated motif from amino acid 64 to 67(E 64 LMT 67),which is commonly recognized by T helper cells.Additionally,the variability observed in all 4 patients was particularly associated with the E 64 LMT 67 motif.Codons 78 and 79 were highly conserved in all samples,in keeping with their involvement in the interaction between the HBV virion capsid and the surface antigens(HBsAg).Of note,codon 76 was even more conserved than codons 78 and 79,suggesting a possible role in HBsAg interactions or even in hepatitis B e antigen conformation.Sequential analysis of samples from patient 4(genotype D) illustrated the dynamism of the HBV quasispecies,with strong selection of one minor baseline variant coinciding with a decrease in core variability during the treatment-free and lamivudinetreated period.The drop in variability seemed to result from a "steady state" situation of the HBV quasispecies after selection of the variant with greatest fitness.CONCLUSION:Host immune pressure seems to be the main cause of HBV core evolution.UDPS analysis is a useful technique for studying viral quasispecies.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B

AIM： To assess the three polymorphJsm regions within cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 （CTLA-4） gene, a C/T base exchange in the promoter region-318 （CTLA-4 -318C/T）, an A/G substitution in the exon 1 position 49 （CTLA-4 49A/G）, a T/C substitution in 1172 （CTLA-4 -1172T/C） in patients with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS： Fifty-one patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and 150 healthy subjects were recruited sequentially as they presented to the hepatic clinic. Classification of chronic hepatitis B virus （HBV）-infected patients was as asymptomatic carrier state （26 patients） and chronic hepatitis B （25 patients）. Genomic DNA was isolated from anti-coagulated peripheral blood Bully coat using Miller＇s salting-out method. The presence of the CTLA-4 gene polymorphisms was determined using polymerase chain reaction amplification refractory mutation system （ARMS）. RESULTS： We observed a significant association between -318 genotypes frequency （T＋C-, T＋C＋, T-C＋） and susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B （P=0.012, OR=0.49, 95%CI： 0.206-1.162）. However, we did not observe a significant association for ＋49 genotype frequency （T＋C＋, T＋C- T-C＋） and -1172 genotype frequency （C＋T＋, T＋C- C＋T-） and state of disease. CONCLUSION： Our results suggest that CTLA-4 gene polymorphisms may partially be involved in the susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B.

No association of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated gene CTLA4 +49A/G polymorphisms with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in Hungarian population samples

AIM： The goal of the current work was to analyse the prevalence of the ＋49A/G variant of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 gene （CTLA4） in Hungarian patients with Crohn＇s disease （CD） and ulcerative colitis （UC）. METHODS： A total of 130 unrelated subjects with CD and 150 with UC, and 170 matched controls were genotyped for the single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP）. The genotypes were determined by using PCR/RFLP test. RESULTS： The G allele frequency and the prevalence of the GG genotype were 38.1% and 12.3% in the CD group, 40.6% and 18.6% in the UC patients, and 37.4% and 15.9% in the control group, respectively. CONCLUSION： The results of the current study show that carriage of the ＋49G SNP in heterozygous or in homozygous form does not confer risk either for CD or for UC in the Hungarian population.

Effect of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4,TNF-alpha polymorphisms on osteosarcoma: evidences from a meta-analysis

Objective： Previous studies have investigated the role of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 （CTLA-4） and tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-a） in carcinogenesis of osteosarcoma, but their results were inconsistent. We aimed to clarify the associations between CTLA-4, TNF-a polymorphism and osteosarcoma risk by using meta-analysis. Methods： We searched relevant studies without language restriction in PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar databases, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI） and conference literature in humans published prior to March 2013. The strengths of the associations between genetic variants and osteosarcoma risk were estimated by odds ratio （OR） with 95% confidence interval （95% CI）. Results： A total of seven studies with 1,198 osteosarcoma patients and 1,493 controls were selected. Four studies were eligible for CTLA-4 （1,003 osteosarcoma and 1,162 controls）, and three studies for TNF-a （195 osteosarcoma and 331 controls）. Pooled results showed that rs231775 polymorphism of CTLA-4 was associated with osteosarcoma risk （GG vs. AA： OR=1.63, 95% CI=1.24-2.13; GG ＋ GA vs. AA： OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.21-2.01; AA ＋ GA vs. GG： OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.71-0.97; G vs. A： OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.08-1.36）. No significant heterogeneity was observed across the studies. No significant associations were found between rs5742909 polymorphism of CTLA-4 or rs1800629 polymorphism of TNF-a and osteosarcoma risk. Conclusions： These results suggest that the rs231775 polymorphism of CTLA-4 may play an important role in carcinogenesis of osteosarcoma.

Prediction of promiscuous T-cell epitopes in the Zika virus polyprotein:An in silico approach

Objective:To predict immunogenic promiscuous T-cell epitopes from the polyprotein of the Zika virus using a range of bioinformatics tools.To date,no epitope data are available for the Zika virus in the IEDB database.Methods:We retrieved nearly 54 full length polyprotein sequences of the Zika virus from the NCBI database belonging to different outbreaks.A consensus sequence was then used to predict the promiscuous T cell epitopes that bind MHC 1 and MHC II alleles using Propred1 and Propred immunoinformatic algorithms respectively.The antigencity predicted score was also calculated for each predicted epitope using the Vaxi Jen 2.0 tool.Results:By using Pro Pred1,23 antigenic epitopes for HLA class I and 48 antigenic epitopes for HLA class II were predicted from the consensus polyprotein sequence of Zika virus.The greatest number of MHC class I binding epitopes were projected within the NS5(21%),followed by Envelope(17%).For MHC class II,greatest number of predicted epitopes were in NS5(19%) followed by the Envelope,NS1 and NS2(17% each).A variety of epitopes with good binding affinity,promiscuity and antigenicity were predicted for both the HLA classes.Conclusion:The predicted conserved promiscuous T-cell epitopes examined in this study were reported for the first time and will contribute to the imminent design of Zika virus vaccine candidates,which will be able to induce a broad range of immune responses in a heterogeneous HLA population.However,our results can be verified and employed in future efficacious vaccine formulations only after successful experimental studies.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes response in vitro activated by dendritic cells pulsed with heat shock protein 70 derived from human bladder tumor cell lines of EJ

Objective： To investigate whether human dendritic cells （DC） derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMC）, which were pulsed by heat shock protein 70 （HSP70） isolated from human bladder tumor cell lines of E J, were able to induce peptide specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes （CTL） response in vitro and give the experimental foundation for the future clinical trials of immunotherapy in bladder tumor. Methods： The E J-derived HSP70 co-cultured with DC from the healthy volunteers＇ PBMC, along with the crude lysate （the supematant before HSP70 purification） from EJ cells were used as the experimental groups and DC not pulsed by any tumor cells antigen were the blank control. The autologous T-lymphocytes were added into the above various DC groups, and after incubation, the stimulation indexes （SI） and interferon-y （IFN-γ） were detected to evaluate the immune activities of various DC groups. The killing effects of CTL to target cells, EJ and Hela cells, were determined with 51^Cr releasing test. Results： Both DC/HSP70 and DC/the crude lysate could effectively activate CTL in vitro and kill target cells EJ. The killing effect of DC/HSP70 to EJ was much stronger than DC/the crude lysate （the supernatant before HSP70 purification） （P 〈 0.05）. DC without any tumor cell antigens had a lower killing power to EJ. Meanwhile, DC/ HSP70 had little killing power to Hela non-relevant to bladder tumor histopathologically as compared with EJ cells （P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： The DC pulsed by HSP70 derived from the autologous tumor cells could induce a peptide complexes specific CTL response to tumor cells, and the CTL response induced by the DC/HSP70 was stronger, which display the basis of the possible clinical application of DC/HSP70 for bladder tumor.

Investigation of 4-hydroxynonenal-delved Epitopes on Apolipoprotein B in Human Serum

hydroxynonenal(HNE) is one of the important products generated in lipid peroxidation. An enzyme linked immunoassay for HNE derived epitopes on apolipoprotein B(apo B) was established and 263 human sera were measured. The mean expression of HNE epitopes in men(156.5 mg/L, n=157) was higher than that in women(147.6 mg/L, n=106). In the subjects less than 70 years of age the serum levels of HNE epitopes increased with the age. Expression of HNE epitopes on apo B in serum positively related to serum contents of ferritin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL C). In addition, mean level of HNE epitopes on apo B in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD, 183.5 mg/L, n=103) was higher than that of controls(133.3 mg/L, n=160). This difference was statistically significant. A multiple regression analysis furth showed that serum concentration of LDL C and HNE epitopes were positively related to CHD as well as the age, but high density lipoprotein cholesterol and female were negatively related to CHD. Thus, increased expression of HNE epitopes on apo B might be an independent risk factor of CHD. \ \

Genome-wide comparison inferred the origin and evolution of B-cell epitopes on the proteins of human influenza A virus

The novel strain H1N1 caused the outbreak of first pandemic influenza in 21 century. Now it is a common component of current seasonal influenza viruses. The recent transmission and plentiful genome sequences available provided a good opportunity to study the origin and evolution of epitopes on the proteins of human influenza virus. In the present study, the B-cell epitope compositions in the pandemic strains, circulating traditional seasonal strains, swine strains as well as highly virulent avian strain H5N1 were identified with the aid of the Immune Epitope DataBase (IEDB) and were compared at genomic level. A total of 14210 distinct sequences down-loaded from NCBI database were used for analysis. Some epitopes on proteins HA or NA, not conserved in recent seasonal strains, were found in 2009 pandemic strains but existed in the early human strains (1919-1935). The pandemic strain shared higher conserved epitopes with “bird flu” virus H5N1than classic human seasonal strains. The epitopes that could exist at common antigenic regions of HA protein are needed to further identify. The genetic exchanges between human and swine population by transmission was very active but the princepal side of the transmission could be from swine to human. These results provided valuable information on influenza A virus evolution and transmission by means of epitope analysis at genomic level.

Prediction of promiscuous T cell epitopes in RNA dependent RNA polymerase of Chikungunya virus

Objective: To explore RNA dependent RNA polymerase of Chikungunya virus(CHIKV) and develop T cell based epitopes with high antigenicity and good binding affinity for the human leukocyte antigen(HLA) classes as targets for epitopes based CHIKV vaccine. Methods: In this study we downloaded 371 non-structural protein 4 protein sequences of CHIKV belonging to different regions of the world from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID) virus pathogen resource database. All the sequences were aligned by using CLUSTALW software and a consensus sequence was developed by using Uni Pro U Gene Software version 1.2.1. PropredⅠand Propred software were used to predict HLAⅠ and HLAⅡ binding promiscuous epitopes from the consensus sequence of non-structural protein 4 protein. The predicted epitopes were analyzed to determine their antigenicity through Vaxijen server version 2.0. All the HLAⅠ binding epitopes were scanned to determine their immunogenic potential through the Immune Epitope Database(IEDB). All the predicted epitopes of our study were fed to IEDB database to determine whether they had been tested earlier. Results: Twenty two HLA class Ⅱ epitopes and eight HLA classⅠepitopes were predicted. The promiscuous epitopes WMNMEVKII at position 486–494 and VRRLNAVLL at 331–339 were found to bind with 37 and 36 of the 51 HLA class Ⅱ alleles respectively. Epitope MANRSRYQS at position 58–66 and epitopes YQSRKVENM at positions 64–72 were predicted to bind with 12 and 9 HLAⅠI alleles with antigenicity scores of 0.754 9 and 1.013 0 respectively. Epitope YSPPINVRL was predicted to bind 18 HLAⅠ alleles and its antigenicity score was 1.425 9 and immunogenicity score was 0.173 83. This epitope is very useful in the preparation of a universal vaccine against CHIKV infection. Conclusions: Epitopes reported in this study showed promiscuity, antigenicity as well as good binding affinity for the HLA classes. These epitopes will provide the baseline for development of efficacious vaccine for CHIKV.

Theoretical Study of Continuous B-Cell Epitopes with Developed BP Neural Network

In order to identify continuous B-cell epitopes effectively and to increase the success rate of experimental identification, the modified Back Propagation artificial neural network (BP neural network) was used to predict the continuous B-cell epitopes, and finally the predictive model for the B-cells epitopes was established. Comparing with the other predictive models, the prediction performance of this model is more excellent (AUC = 0.723). For the purpose of verifying the performance of the model, the prediction to the SWISS PROT NUMBER: P08677 was carried on, and the satisfying results were obtained.

Expression of cancer-testis antigen CT10 gene mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma and prediction of HLA - A2 restricted CTL epitopes of CT10

Objective To investigate the expression of cancer-testis antigen CT10 gene mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma and predict the HLA-A2-restricted CTL epitopes of CT10. Methods The expression of CT10 mRNA was detected by using RT - PCR in HCC tissues and the corresponding adjacent non-HCC tissues from 45 HCC patients, among those 3 samples selected randomly from CT10 PCR positive products were sequenced. HLA - A2-restricted CTL epitopes of CT10 was predicted by peptide supermotif prediction combined with quantitative motif. Results CT10 mRNA was detectable in 19/45 (42. 2%) of HCC samples, while the corresponding adjacent non-HCC tissue were all negative in expression of CT10 mRNA. In addition, The DNA sequence confirmed that the RT- PCR products were truly CT10 cDNA. No June 2003 Vol12 No2 relationship was found between the expression of CT10 and demographic and clinical features such as age, sex, tumor size, degree of tumor differentiation, serum α-fetoprotein level and infection of hepatitis B virus or