Li Guang-Zhen, Shen Di, Li Guang-Hong, Wei Meng, Zheng Li-Jie, Liu Zeng-Li, Sun Rong-Qi, Zhou Shao-Jun, Zhang Zong-Li, Gao Yan-Chao
Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China.
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shandong Maternity and Child Care Hospital, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2021 Mar;21(3):236. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.9667. Epub 2021 Jan 21.
Semaphorin 3B (SEMA-3B), which belongs to the semaphorin family, has an important role in cell apoptosis and inhibition of angiogenesis. A previous study by our group revealed that SEMA-3B was downregulated in tumor tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and exerts anti-motility and anti-invasion effects on tumor cells. However, the serum levels of SEMA-3B and their clinical significance have remained elusive; therefore, the aim of the present study was to monitor its expression in HCC and investigate its clinical significance. ELISA was used to determine the serum levels of SEMA-3B in 132 patients with HCC and 57 healthy individuals. The association between SEMA-3B and clinicopathological parameters was investigated. Serum SEMA-3B was indicated to be significantly decreased in patients with HCC as compared with that in the controls (P<0.05) and it was negatively associated with tumor size (P=0.039), encapsulation (P=0.002) and TNM stage (P=0.034). The prognosis of patients with low expression of SEMA-3B was poor. In conclusion, the results of the present study revealed that serum SEMA-3B is decreased in HCC and is negatively associated with prognosis; therefore, it may be used as a prognostic marker in HCC.
信号素3B（SEMA - 3B）属于信号素家族，在细胞凋亡和抑制血管生成中发挥重要作用。我们团队之前的一项研究表明，SEMA - 3B在肝细胞癌（HCC）患者的肿瘤组织中表达下调，并对肿瘤细胞具有抗运动和抗侵袭作用。然而，SEMA - 3B的血清水平及其临床意义仍不明确；因此，本研究的目的是监测其在HCC中的表达并探讨其临床意义。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法测定132例HCC患者和57例健康个体血清中SEMA - 3B的水平。研究SEMA - 3B与临床病理参数之间的关联。结果表明，与对照组相比，HCC患者血清SEMA - 3B显著降低（P<0.05），且与肿瘤大小（P = 0.039）、包膜（P = 0.002）和TNM分期（P = 0.034）呈负相关。SEMA - 3B低表达患者的预后较差。总之，本研究结果表明，HCC患者血清SEMA - 3B降低，且与预后呈负相关；因此，它可能作为HCC的预后标志物。
