Wang Wei, Yang Lian-Yue, Yang Zhi-Li, Huang Gen-Wen, Lu Wei-Qun
Department of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan Province, China.
World J Gastroenterol. 2003 Sep;9(9):1950-3. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v9.i9.1950.
To investigate the expression of RhoC gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to evaluate the relationship between RhoC gene expression and invasion and metastasis of HCC.
mRNA expression level of RhoC gene was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 25 cases of HCC and para-cancerous normal liver tissues. In addition, mutation of RhoC gene was examined by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP).
The mRNA expression levels of RhoC in tumor tissues were significantly higher than those in para-cancerous normal liver tissues (1.8+/-1.1 vs 1.0+/-0.7, P<0.01). The metastatic lesions outside of liver also showed significantly higher RhoC mRNA levels than corresponding tumor tissues in liver (3.3+/-0.5 vs 2.0+/-0.7, P<0.01). There were significant associations between RhoC gene expression and certain clinical and pathological findings, including cell differentiation, vein invasion, number of tumor nodes and metastatic lesions. Mutation of RhoC gene was not found by PCR-SSCP.
The RhoC gene may be related to malignant transformation and development of HCC and may play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of HCC by overexpression but not mutation.
研究RhoC基因在肝细胞癌（HCC）中的表达情况，并评估RhoC基因表达与HCC侵袭和转移之间的关系。
采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测25例HCC组织及癌旁正常肝组织中RhoC基因的mRNA表达水平。此外，采用聚合酶链反应-单链构象多态性（PCR-SSCP）检测RhoC基因的突变情况。
肿瘤组织中RhoC的mRNA表达水平显著高于癌旁正常肝组织（1.8±1.1 vs 1.0±0.7，P<0.01）。肝外转移灶中RhoC的mRNA水平也显著高于相应的肝内肿瘤组织（3.3±0.5 vs 2.0±0.7，P<0.01）。RhoC基因表达与某些临床病理特征之间存在显著相关性，包括细胞分化、静脉侵犯、肿瘤结节数量和转移灶。PCR-SSCP未发现RhoC基因的突变。
RhoC基因可能与HCC的恶性转化和发展有关，可能通过过表达而非突变在HCC的侵袭和转移中发挥重要作用。
