Objective： To investigate the expression of Glypican-3 gene in （α-fetoprotein （AFP）-negative hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and clarify whether Glypican-3 expression is a useful parameter for the diagnosis of h...Objective： To investigate the expression of Glypican-3 gene in （α-fetoprotein （AFP）-negative hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and clarify whether Glypican-3 expression is a useful parameter for the diagnosis of hepatocelhllar carcinoma （HCC）, especially for AFP-negative ones. Methods： Forty-one specimens of AFP-negative hepatocellular carcinoma and para-carcimoma tissue were studied for the expression of Glypican-3 by Northern blot. The expression of Glypican-3 protein was detected immunohistochemically with specific polyclonal antibody. Results： Northern blot analysis indicated that the expression of Glypican-3 mRNA was intensively detected in 30 of 41 AFP-negative HCC （73.17%）. In contrast, Glypican-3 mRNA was only weakly detected in 4 of the surrounding non-tumor liver tissues. There was significant difference in the Glypican-3 mRNA expression in large tumors （〉5 cm） （79.31%） and in small tumors （〈5 cm） （41.67%） （P〈0.01）. Gypican-3 mRNA was more frequently overexpressed in poorly differentiated HCC than in well differentiated ones （76.47% vs. 42.86%, P〈0.05）. The Glypican-3 expression was not correlated with age. sex. ttbsAg seropositivity, fibroeapsule, portal venous embolus and intrahepatic metastasis. The overexpression of Glypican-3 protein in HCC was targeted in tumor cells, not in bile duct cells and other interstitial cells. Conclusion： Glypican-3 was specially overexpressed in AFP-negative HCC, and its expression was closely correlated with the tumor size and tumor grade. Glypican-3 gene may play important roles in hepatocareinogenesis, and can be used as a new biochemical marker of HCC, especially for AFP-negative HCC.展开更多
Embryonic stem （ES） cells are derived from blastocyst-stage embryos. Their unique properties of self-renewal and pluripotency make them an attractive tool for basic research and a potential cell resource for therapy...Embryonic stem （ES） cells are derived from blastocyst-stage embryos. Their unique properties of self-renewal and pluripotency make them an attractive tool for basic research and a potential cell resource for therapy. ES cells of mouse and human have been successfully generated and applied in a wide range of research. However, no genuine ES cell lines have been obtained from rat to date. In this study, we identified pluripotent cells in early rat embryos using specific antibodies against markers of pluripotent stem ceils. Subsequently, by modifying the culture medium for rat blastocysts, we derived pluripotent rat ES-like cell lines, which expressed pluripotency markers and formed embryoid bodies （EBs） in vitro. Importantly, these rat ES-like cells were able to produce teratomas. Both EBs and teratomas contained tissues from all three embryonic germ layers. In addition, from the rat ES-like cells, we derived a rat primitive endoderm （PrE） cell line. Furthermore, we conducted transcriptional profiling of the rat ES-like cells and identified the unique molecular signature of the rat pluripotent stem cells. Our analysis demonstrates that multiple signaling pathways, including the BMP, Activin and mTOR pathways, may be involved in keeping the rat ES-like cells in an undifferentiated state. The cell lines and information obtained in this study will accelerate our understanding of the molecular regulation underlying pluripotency and guide us in the appropriate manipulation of ES cells from a particular species.展开更多
基金This work was supported in part by grants from the State Key Basic Research Program (No.39825114) and the NationalNatural Science Foundation of China (No.39770379).
文摘Objective： To investigate the expression of Glypican-3 gene in （α-fetoprotein （AFP）-negative hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and clarify whether Glypican-3 expression is a useful parameter for the diagnosis of hepatocelhllar carcinoma （HCC）, especially for AFP-negative ones. Methods： Forty-one specimens of AFP-negative hepatocellular carcinoma and para-carcimoma tissue were studied for the expression of Glypican-3 by Northern blot. The expression of Glypican-3 protein was detected immunohistochemically with specific polyclonal antibody. Results： Northern blot analysis indicated that the expression of Glypican-3 mRNA was intensively detected in 30 of 41 AFP-negative HCC （73.17%）. In contrast, Glypican-3 mRNA was only weakly detected in 4 of the surrounding non-tumor liver tissues. There was significant difference in the Glypican-3 mRNA expression in large tumors （〉5 cm） （79.31%） and in small tumors （〈5 cm） （41.67%） （P〈0.01）. Gypican-3 mRNA was more frequently overexpressed in poorly differentiated HCC than in well differentiated ones （76.47% vs. 42.86%, P〈0.05）. The Glypican-3 expression was not correlated with age. sex. ttbsAg seropositivity, fibroeapsule, portal venous embolus and intrahepatic metastasis. The overexpression of Glypican-3 protein in HCC was targeted in tumor cells, not in bile duct cells and other interstitial cells. Conclusion： Glypican-3 was specially overexpressed in AFP-negative HCC, and its expression was closely correlated with the tumor size and tumor grade. Glypican-3 gene may play important roles in hepatocareinogenesis, and can be used as a new biochemical marker of HCC, especially for AFP-negative HCC.
文摘Embryonic stem （ES） cells are derived from blastocyst-stage embryos. Their unique properties of self-renewal and pluripotency make them an attractive tool for basic research and a potential cell resource for therapy. ES cells of mouse and human have been successfully generated and applied in a wide range of research. However, no genuine ES cell lines have been obtained from rat to date. In this study, we identified pluripotent cells in early rat embryos using specific antibodies against markers of pluripotent stem ceils. Subsequently, by modifying the culture medium for rat blastocysts, we derived pluripotent rat ES-like cell lines, which expressed pluripotency markers and formed embryoid bodies （EBs） in vitro. Importantly, these rat ES-like cells were able to produce teratomas. Both EBs and teratomas contained tissues from all three embryonic germ layers. In addition, from the rat ES-like cells, we derived a rat primitive endoderm （PrE） cell line. Furthermore, we conducted transcriptional profiling of the rat ES-like cells and identified the unique molecular signature of the rat pluripotent stem cells. Our analysis demonstrates that multiple signaling pathways, including the BMP, Activin and mTOR pathways, may be involved in keeping the rat ES-like cells in an undifferentiated state. The cell lines and information obtained in this study will accelerate our understanding of the molecular regulation underlying pluripotency and guide us in the appropriate manipulation of ES cells from a particular species.
