Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha,hexokinase-II and lactate dehydrogenase-V in hepatocellular carcinoma and their biological significance

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of HIF-1α,HK-Ⅱ,and LDH-Ⅴ genes in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) tissues,and analyze their influences on biological behaviors of HCC.METHODS: Tumorous tissue specimens were obtained randomly from 56 patients with HCC who underwent partial hepatectomy.The expressions of HIF-1α,HK-Ⅱ and LDH-Ⅴ genes protein were detected with IHC technique and the relationships with clinicopathological characteristi parameters of the HCC were analyzed.RESULTS: The positive expression rate of the HIF-1α,HK-Ⅱ and LDH-Ⅴ genes protein in HCC tissues was 71.4%,75.0% and 67.9%,respectively.Overexpressions of these proteins were closely associated with the clinicopathological characteristic parameters such as the background of liver cirrhosis,differentiation degree of cancer cells,clinical stage,lymph node metastasis of hepatic hilum,the existence of portal vein or biliary tract tumor emboli,microscopic venous invasion,and capsule formation(P0.05),but not correlated to the sex and age of the HCC patients,the status of HBsAg,the value of blood serum AFP and the size of primary tumors(P0.05).CONCLUSIONS: In the procedure of canceration of liver cells and tumor growth,the HIF-1α,HK-Ⅱ and LDH-Ⅴ genes might play crucial roles,which might collectively participate in progression of HCC.The synchronous overexpressions of the HIF-1α,HK-Ⅱ and LDH-Ⅴ genes can reflect the biological behaviors of HCC,and they are three important indexes for HCC invasion and metastasis and could serve as novel biological markers of predictor in evaluating the prognosis of patients with HCC.