Expression of liver cancer associated gene HCCA3

AIM: To study and clone a novel liver cancer reisted gene,and to explore the molecular basis of liver cancer genesis.METHODS: Using mRNA differential display polymerasechain reaction (DDPCR), we investigated the difference of mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and paired surrounding liver tissues, and got a gene probe. By screening a human placenta cDNA library and genomic homologous extend, we obtained a full-length cDNA named HCCA3. We analyzed the expression of this novel gene in 42pairs of HCC and the surrounding liver tissues, and distribution in human normal tissues by means of Northern blot assay.RESULTS: A full-length cDNA of liver cancer associated gene HCCA3 has been submitted to the GeneBank nucleotide sequence databases ( Accession No. AF276707 ). The positive expression rate of this gene was 78.6% (33/42) in HCC tissues, and the clinical pathological data showed that the HCCA3 was closely associated with the invasion of tumor capsule ( P = 0.023) and adjacant small metastasis satellite nodules lesions ( P= 0.041). The HCCA3 was widely distributed in the human normal tissues, which was intensively expressed in lungs, brain and colon tissues,while lowly expressed in the liver tissues.CONCLUSION: A novel full-length cDNA was cloned and differentiated, which was highly expressed in liver cancer tissues. The high expression was closely related to the tumor invasiveness and metastasis, that may be the late heredited change in HCC genesis.

Copper transportion of WD protein in hepatocytes from Wilson disease patients in vitro

AIM: To study the effect of copper transporting P-type ATPase in copper metabolism of hepatocyte and pathogenesis of Wilson disease (WD).METHODS: WD copper transporting properties in some organelles of the cultured hepatocytes were studied from WD patients and normal controls. These cultured hepatocytes were incubated in the media of copper 15mg.L-1 only, copper 15 mg. L-1 with vincristine (agonist of P-type ArPase) 0.5mg. L-1, or copper 15 mg. L-1 withvanadate (antagonist of P-type ATPase) 18.39 mg. L-1separately. Microsome (endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus), lysosome, mitochondria, and cytosol were isolated by differential centrifugation. Copper contents in these organelles were measured with atomic absorption spectrophotometer, and the influence in copper transportion of these organelles by vanadate and vincristine were comparatively analyzed between WD patients and controls.WD copper transporting P-type ATPase was detected by SDS-PAGE in conjunction with Western blot in liver samples of WD patients and controls.RESULTS: The specific WD proteins (Mr155 000 lanes) were expressed in human hepatocytes, including the control and WD patients. After incubation with medium containing copper for 2 h or 24 h, the microsome copper concentration in WD patients was obviously lower than that of controls,and the addtion of vanadate or vincristine would change the copper transporting of microsomes obviously. When incubated with vincristine, levels of copper in microsome were significantly increased, while incubated with vanadate,the copper concentrations in microsome were obviously decreased. The results indicated that there were Wdproteins, the copper transportion P-type ATPase in the microsome of hepatocytes. WD patients possessed abnormal copper transporting function of WD protein in the microsome, and the agonist might correct the defect of copper transportion by promoting the activity of copper transportion P-type ATPase.CONCLUSION: Copper transportion P-type ATPase plays an important role in hepatocytic copper metabolism.Dysfunction of hepatocytic WD protein copper transportion might be one of the most important factors for WD.