Biomakers that trigger aggressive liver cancer identified.Byline: ANI Washington, Oct 21 (ANI): Scientists from Taipei Veterans General Hospital have identified certain biomakers that appear to trigger aggressiveness of liver cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC HCC Hepatocellular Carcinoma (liver cancer) HCC Hertfordshire County Council (administrative region of south eastern England UK) HCC Harford Community College (Maryland) ) or primary liver cancer forms in the epithelial tissue of the liver and is most commonly caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV HBV hepatitis B virus. HBV abbr. hepatitis B virus ) or hepatitis C virus
abbr. hepatitis C virus HCV 1 Hepatitis C virus, see there 2. Human coronavirus. See Coronavirus. ). The researchers investigated the molecular mechanisms of HCC and provided a comprehensive profile of multiple Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT See Efficient markets theory. ) markers. EMT is critical in the development of invasiveness and metastatic potential of human cancers, and described as process where epithelial cells no longer adhere to one another, taking on fibroblastic properties. The EMT process is initiated by suppression of E-cadherin function through the major EMT regulators (Snail, Slug, and Twist). E-cadherin (calcium dependent adhesion molecules) is a type of protein found in the epithelial cells that ensure tissue cells bind together. When E-cadherin function is lost, cancer is able to progress and metastasize me·tas·ta·size v. To be transmitted or transferred by or as if by metastasis. Metastasize Spread of cells from the original site of the cancer to other parts of the body where secondary tumors are formed. . The study showed that Snail and Twist, but not Slug are the major inducers of EMT in HCC. During the study, professor Jaw-Ching Wu and colleagues obtained samples of primary HCC with adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues from 123 patients who had hepatic resection surgery. Reduced E-cadherin function was observed in 60.2pct of patients. "We found a significant decrease in cancer-free intervals and overall survival for those patients who had a reduction in E-cadherin function," said Dr. Wu. The results show that co-expression Snail and Twist (transcription factors or proteins that control when genes are switched on or off) indicates the worst prognosis for HCC patients. "Our research is the first to prove that the two proteins (Snail and Twist) work independently, but together promote EMT," said Wu. The study is published in journal Hepatology. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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