HO-1 is a favorable prognostic factor for HBV-HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy

Abstract

Chun-Nan Yeh,1 Ren-Chin Wu,2 Chi-Tung Cheng,1 Chun-Yi Tsai,1 Yau-Ren Chang,1 Ta-Sen Yeh,1 Tsung-Han Wu,1 Wei-Chen Lee,1 Kun-Chun Chiang3 1Department of Surgery, Liver Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan; 2Department of Pathology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan; 3General Surgery Department, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Keelung, Taiwan Background: More than 500,000 people suffered from hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) annually and the relative incidence to mortality rate indicates its unfavorable prognosis. Several studies have proved that heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is indirectly engaged in the invasion and the metastasis of some types of malignancies, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. The role of HO-1 in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC is still not clarified.Materials and methods: The Western blot, doubling time, cell cycle analysis, migration assay, invasion assay, gene transfection, xenograft animal model, immunohistochemistry staining, and clinical validation study were applied in this study.Results: HO-1 overexpression not only decreased the growth but also inhibited the migration and invasion in human HBV-HCC cells (Hep-3B vs PLC/PRF/5 ). The inhibitory effect on growth, migration, and invasion is further demonstrated by the overexpression of HO-1 in Hep-3B cell by transfection study. Furthermore, HO-1 decreasing the growth of HBV-HCC was confirmed in animal study. The clinical validation illustrated that higher HO1 expression was also associated with favorable disease-free survival of HBV-HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy.Conclusions: We identified HO-1 as a favorable prognostic factor for HBV-HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy. Keywords: HO-1, HBV, HCC, hepatectomy

Keywords

• HO-1
• HBV
• HCC
• hepatectomy