Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
In Vitro Cultivation Techniques for Modeling Liver Organogenesis, Building Assembloids, and Designing Synthetic Tissues using Human Cell Lines
Published on: April 18, 2025
Expression of microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 and its role in human hepatocellular carcinoma
Shengbing Zang1, Mulan Ni, Yuane Lian
1Department of Pathology and Institute of Oncology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350004, China.
Abstract:
Microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 (mPGES1), an inducible enzyme similar to cyclooxygenase-2, functions downstream of cyclooxygenase-2 in the synthesis of prostaglandin E2. It contributes to carcinogenesis in a variety of tumors. Here, mPGES1 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry of tissue microarrays containing a total of 100 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue samples, 100 peritumoral liver tissue samples, and 13 normal liver tissue samples. The expression of mPGES1 was significantly increased in the HCC tissue samples (P < .001), relative to normal liver tissue. Second, there was a significant positive correlation between mPGES1 expression and the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage (P < .001) in HCC tissue samples. This correlation was also observed with encapsulation (P = .004) and portal vein thrombosis (P < .001). In addition, the lentiviral vector (Lv-mPGES1-shRNA), which down-regulates mPGES1, inhibited tumor growth in an HCC animal model. Taken together, mPGES1 expression was associated with multiple malignant characteristics and enhanced tumorigenesis in HCC and may serve as an important clinical and pharmacologic biomarker.
