Differential alternative splicing between hepatocellular carcinoma with normal and elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein

Abstract

Abstract Background Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the approved serum marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening. However, not all HCC patients show high (≥ 20 ng/mL) serum AFP, and the molecular mechanisms of HCCs with normal ( 0.05, FDR 0.05), in which exons 25 and 33 were more frequently skipped in HCCs with normal (low) serum AFP compared to those with high serum AFP. Moreover, these events were gender and VI dependent. Conclusion We found that AS may influence the regulation of transcriptional differences inherent in the occurrence of HCC maintaining normal rather than elevated serum AFP levels.

Keywords

• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Alpha-fetoprotein
• Alternative splicing
• RNA-sequencing