Novel human hepatocellular carcinoma-associated gene has been identified

A novel hepatocellular carcinoma-associated gene has been identified, whose protein may play a role in an intracellular signal transduction cascade, according to research published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Cancer.

The researchers investigated liver-cancer-associated genes and explored the molecular basis of liver cancer genesis.

They cloned a novel hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-related gene with a transcript of 2520 base pairs in length, named HCCA2.

This was done by mRNA differential display polymerase chain reaction (DDPCR) and screening a placenta cDNA library.

No significant homologous protein with known genes was found.

HCCA2 mRNA expressed in 79% of HCC patients.

British Journal of Cancer

Western blot analysis showed that HCCA2 could be expressed in transfected 293 cells.

Northern hybridization analysis revealed that HCCA2 mRNA was expressed in 79% (34/43) of patients with HCC. Most of these subjects had significantly high expression in HCC tissues, while it was not expressed in corresponding noncancerous liver tissues.

The clinical pathological data showed that the HCCA2 was significantly associated with the invasion of tumor capsule and the expression of ki-67 protein.

Immunohistochemical staining confirmed that the HCCA2 protein was localized in cytoplasm of liver cancer tissues.

The protein was characterized with two Src homology 3 (SH3) binding-domains and several functional motifs of phosphorylation. Thus, the authors conclude that, according to amino acid analysis of the protein and its localization, it may play a role in a cascade of intracellular signal transduction.