[Changes in amino acid contents in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues]

Contents of 22 amino acids in hepatoma with surrounding and distant liver parenchyma resected from 10 pathologically proven patients were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Analysis of the results showed that the contents of total amino acids and essential amino acids in hepatoma tissues were much higher than those in the surrounding and distant liver parenchyma. The contents of 11 amino acids, including glutamic acid, asparagine, glutamine, serine, histidine, arginine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine and lysine were higher than those in the surrounding and/or distant liver parenchyma. There was no statistically significant difference of amino acid contents between the surrounding and distant liver parenchyma. Most amino acid contents which increased in hepatoma tissues were positively correlated with tumor volume and/or serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity. These results suggested that hepatoma tissues can selectively take up the necessary amino acids which fail to be produced by the cancer tissues as raw material for synthesis of protein. The faster the hepatoma grows, the greater the need for amino acidosis. This study may be helpful to the application of imbalanced amino acid for correction of metabolic disturbances in hepatoma patients.