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Enhanced expression of cyclin E and cyclin A in human hepatocellular carcinomas
1Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Okayama University Medical School, 2-5-1 Shikata, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
Background:
Disruption of the G1/S check point leads to uncontrolled cell growth, resulting in the development of cancers.
Materials And Methods:
Cell cycle regulatory molecules were investigated in 33 surgically resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples from 30 patients by Western blotting.
Results:
Enhanced expressions of cyclin E and cyclin A were detected at frequencies of 18/33 and 26/33 in HCCs, respectively, as compared with their neighboring noncancerous tissues. The enhanced expression of cyclin E, but not that of cyclin A, correlated with hyperphosphorylation of pRb and high frequency of Ki-67-positive cells. Thus, the HCCs with enhanced cyclin E expression probably contain a relatively large number of proliferating cancer cells.
Conclusions:
The degree of cyclin E expression can be used as a prognostic parameter of HCC. In addition, cyclin E may become a molecular target in the treatment of HCCs.