Abstract:
Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway dysregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, and the sonic Hh (SHh) protein, a pivotal molecule in the Hh pathway, is expressed in ballooned hepatocytes. The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of SHh expression in steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma (SH-HCC). Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were performed to examine SHh gene and SHh protein expression in SH-HCC. Additionally, patients with conventional HCC (C-HCC) were included in the control group. Comparisons of patient and tumor characteristics were also performed. The prevalence of SH-HCC was 3% in the whole cohort, and it was significantly associated with a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus. SHh mRNA was detected in all patients with SH-HCC, but not in 23% of patients with C-HCC. Notably, SHh mRNA expression was not significantly different between patients with SH-HCC and those with C-HCC; however, high SHh protein expression was significantly more frequent in SH-HCC patients than in those with C-HCC. Although the prognosis was not significantly different between the SH-HCC and C-HCC groups, high SHh protein expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for HCC. In conclusion, SHh could potentially serve as a therapeutic target for patients with HCC.
摘要:
Hedgehog(Hh)信号通路失调与代谢功能障碍相关脂肪性肝炎的发病机制有关,和声波Hh(SHh)蛋白,Hh通路中的一个关键分子,在膨胀的肝细胞中表达。本研究旨在探讨SHh在脂肪性肝细胞癌(SH-HCC)中的表达及其临床病理意义。采用逆转录-定量聚合酶链反应和免疫组织化学方法检测SH-HCC中SHh基因和SHh蛋白的表达。此外,将常规HCC(C-HCC)患者纳入对照组.还进行了患者和肿瘤特征的比较。在整个队列中,SH-HCC的患病率为3%,它与糖尿病的高患病率显著相关。在所有SH-HCC患者中均检测到SHhmRNA,但在23%的C-HCC患者中没有。值得注意的是,SHhmRNA表达在SH-HCC患者和C-HCC患者之间没有显着差异;然而,SH-HCC患者的SHh蛋白高表达明显高于C-HCC患者。尽管SH-HCC和C-HCC组之间的预后没有显着差异,SHh蛋白高表达是HCC的独立不良预后因素。总之,SHh可能作为肝癌患者的治疗靶点。