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Pan X, Kaminga AC, Wen SW, Liu A. Chemokines in hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis. Carcinogenesis 2021; 41:1682-1694. [PMID: 33300549 DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgaa106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that chemokines may play an important role in the formation and mediating of the immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to explore the differences in blood or tissues chemokines concentrations between HCC patients and controls. Online databases, namely PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library, were systematically searched for relevant articles published on or before 15 January 2020. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals of the chemokines concentrations were calculated as group differences between the HCC patients and the controls. Sixty-five studies met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Altogether they consisted of 26 different chemokines compared between 5828 HCC patients and 4909 controls; and 12 different chemokines receptors compared between 2053 patients and 2285 controls. The results of meta-analysis indicated that concentrations of CCL20, CXCL8 and CXCR4 in the HCC patients were significantly higher than those in the controls (SMD of 6.18, 1.81 and 1.04, respectively). Therefore, higher concentration levels of CCL20, CXCL8 and CXCR4 may indicate the occurrence of HCC Future research should explore the putative mechanisms underlying this linkage. Meanwhile, attempts can be made to replicate the existing findings in prospective cohort populations and explore the cause-and-effect relationships pertaining to this linkage in order to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiongfeng Pan
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Atipatsa C Kaminga
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Mzuzu University, Mzuzu, Malawi
| | - Shi Wu Wen
- OMNI Research Group, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Aizhong Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
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Virzì A, Gonzalez-Motos V, Tripon S, Baumert TF, Lupberger J. Profibrotic Signaling and HCC Risk during Chronic Viral Hepatitis: Biomarker Development. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10050977. [PMID: 33801181 PMCID: PMC7957739 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10050977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite breakthroughs in antiviral therapies, chronic viral hepatitis B and C are still the major causes of liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Importantly, even in patients with controlled infection or viral cure, the cancer risk cannot be fully eliminated, highlighting a persisting oncogenic pressure imposed by epigenetic imprinting and advanced liver disease. Reliable and minimally invasive biomarkers for early fibrosis and for residual HCC risk in HCV-cured patients are urgently needed. Chronic infection with HBV and/or HCV dysregulates oncogenic and profibrogenic signaling within the host, also displayed in the secretion of soluble factors to the blood. The study of virus-dysregulated signaling pathways may, therefore, contribute to the identification of reliable minimally invasive biomarkers for the detection of patients at early-stage liver disease potentially complementing existing noninvasive methods in clinics. With a focus on virus-induced signaling events, this review provides an overview of candidate blood biomarkers for liver disease and HCC risk associated with chronic viral hepatitis and epigenetic viral footprints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Virzì
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.V.); (V.G.-M.); (S.T.); (T.F.B.)
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques (IVH), 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Victor Gonzalez-Motos
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.V.); (V.G.-M.); (S.T.); (T.F.B.)
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques (IVH), 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Simona Tripon
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.V.); (V.G.-M.); (S.T.); (T.F.B.)
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques (IVH), 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire, Pôle Hépato-Digestif, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, 67091 Strasbourg, France
| | - Thomas F. Baumert
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.V.); (V.G.-M.); (S.T.); (T.F.B.)
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques (IVH), 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire, Pôle Hépato-Digestif, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, 67091 Strasbourg, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 75231 Paris, France
| | - Joachim Lupberger
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France; (A.V.); (V.G.-M.); (S.T.); (T.F.B.)
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques (IVH), 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Correspondence:
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Hanson A, Piras IS, Wilhelmsen D, Still CD, Chu X, Petrick A, Gerhard GS, DiStefano JK. Chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) expression increases with NAFLD stage and hepatic stellate cell activation and is regulated by miR-590-5p. Cytokine 2019; 123:154789. [PMID: 31352173 DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2019.154789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
CCL20 (CC chemokine ligand 20) is emerging as an important regulatory molecule in a pathway common to virus infection, alcoholic hepatitis, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) leading to the development of hepatic fibrosis. We previously observed upregulation of CCL20 in patients with NAFLD fibrosis and human hepatic stellate cells (LX-2 cells) in response to lipid loading. To date, the mechanisms mediating the relationship between CCL20 and hepatic fibrogenesis remain unknown. In this study, we sought to characterize the molecular mechanisms by which CCL20 may contribute to fibrogenesis in NAFLD. We observed that CCL20 levels increased with worsening severity of liver histology in NAFLD patients (normal < steatosis < inflammation < fibrosis) and during LX-2 cell activation in a time-dependent manner. We found that treatment of LX-2 cells with CCL20 corresponded with increased levels of CCL20 and ACTA2, and decreased levels of PLAU and SERPINE1, effects mitigated by CCL20 knockdown. We identified a putative binding site for miR-590-5p, which we previously reported to be downregulated in NAFLD fibrosis, in the CCL20 3' untranslated region (3'UTR), and found that exogenous miR-590-5p functionally interacted with the CCL20 3'UTR to downregulate its expression. Transfection of LX-2 hepatic stellate cells with miR-590-5p mimic or silencing RNA resulted in decreased or increased CCL20 levels, respectively. Our results indicate an association between CCL20 and hepatic stellate cell activation that includes modulation of key ECM components and functional interactions with a miRNA previously implicated in NAFLD fibrosis. Together, these findings support a novel mechanism by which CCL20 may promote fibrogenesis in NAFLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Hanson
- Diabetes and Fibrotic Disease Unit, Translational Genomics Research Institute, 445 N 5th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
| | - Ignazio S Piras
- Diabetes and Fibrotic Disease Unit, Translational Genomics Research Institute, 445 N 5th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
| | - Danielle Wilhelmsen
- Diabetes and Fibrotic Disease Unit, Translational Genomics Research Institute, 445 N 5th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
| | | | - Xin Chu
- Geisinger Obesity Institute, Danville, PA 17822, United States
| | - Anthony Petrick
- Geisinger Obesity Institute, Danville, PA 17822, United States
| | - Glenn S Gerhard
- Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, United States
| | - Johanna K DiStefano
- Diabetes and Fibrotic Disease Unit, Translational Genomics Research Institute, 445 N 5th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States.
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Benkheil M, Van Haele M, Roskams T, Laporte M, Noppen S, Abbasi K, Delang L, Neyts J, Liekens S. CCL20, a direct-acting pro-angiogenic chemokine induced by hepatitis C virus (HCV): Potential role in HCV-related liver cancer. Exp Cell Res 2018; 372:168-177. [PMID: 30287142 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2018.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The CCL20/CCR6 chemokine/receptor axis has previously been shown to contribute to the initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through the recruitment of CCR6-positive leukocytes to the tumor microenvironment. In particular, high serum levels of CCL20 are reported in patients with HCC induced by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). A potential non-immune role for the CCL20/CCR6 axis in HCC development has not yet been investigated. Microarray analysis (Benkheil et al., paper submitted for publication), revealed that CCL20 is highly upregulated in hepatoma cells infected with HCV compared with non-infected hepatoma cells. To determine the role of the CCL20/CCR6 axis in HCV-related HCC, we first explored which cell populations express CCR6 in human liver tissue with chronic disease or HCC. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis revealed that CCR6 is present on endothelial cells (ECs) of portal blood vessels in livers with chronic HCV infection and in HCV- and alcoholic-HCC tissue. In addition, we found CCR6 to be expressed on primary macrovascular (HUVECs) and microvascular ECs (HMVEC-ds) where it co-expressed with the endothelial marker CD31. In vitro angiogenesis experiments revealed that CCL20 is a direct pro-angiogenic molecule that induces EC invasion, sprouting and migration through CCR6. Moreover, using the angiogenesis matrigel plug assay in immunodeficient NMRI-nu mice, we clearly showed that CCL20 induces blood vessel formation, by attracting CCR6-positive ECs. Finally, we demonstrated that HCV-induced CCL20 protein expression and secretion in hepatoma cells could be abolished by antiviral treatment, indicating that CCL20 expression is dependent on HCV replication. In contrast to HCV, HBV-infection resulted in a decreased expression of CCL20, implying a virus-specific effect. Taken together, we identified HCV-induced CCL20 as a direct pro-angiogenic factor that acts on endothelial CCR6. These results suggest that the CCL20/CCR6 axis contributes to hepatic angiogenesis, promoting the hypervascular state of HCV-HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Benkheil
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium.
| | - Matthias Van Haele
- Translational Cell & Tissue Research, Department of Imaging & Pathology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Tania Roskams
- Translational Cell & Tissue Research, Department of Imaging & Pathology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Manon Laporte
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Sam Noppen
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Kayvan Abbasi
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Leen Delang
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Johan Neyts
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Sandra Liekens
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
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Benkheil M, Paeshuyse J, Neyts J, Van Haele M, Roskams T, Liekens S. HCV-induced EGFR-ERK signaling promotes a pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic signature contributing to liver cancer pathogenesis. Biochem Pharmacol 2018; 155:305-315. [PMID: 30012461 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2018.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
HCV is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC development in chronically infected HCV patients has until now been attributed to persistent inflammation and interference of viral proteins with host cell signaling. Since activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) presents a crucial step in HCV entry, we aimed at investigating whether EGFR signaling may contribute to the pathogenesis of HCV-related HCC. By applying microarray analysis, we generated a gene expression signature for secreted proteins in HCV-infected hepatoma cells. This gene signature was enriched for inflammatory and angiogenic processes; both crucially involved in HCC development. RT-qPCR analysis, conducted on the entire list of upregulated genes, confirmed induction of 11 genes (AREG, IL8, CCL20, CSF1, GDF15, IGFBP1, VNN3, THBS1 and PAI-1) in a virus titer- and replication-dependent manner. EGFR activation in hepatoma cells largely mimicked the gene signature seen in the infectious HCV model. Further, the EGFR-ERK pathway, but not Akt signaling, was responsible for this gene expression profile. Finally, microarray analysis conducted on clinical data from the GEO database, revealed that our validated gene expression profile is significantly represented in livers of patients with HCV-related liver pathogenesis (cirrhosis and HCC) compared to healthy livers. Taken together, our data indicate that persistent activation of EGFR-ERK signaling in chronically infected HCV patients may induce a specific pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic signature that presents a new mechanism by which HCV can promote liver cancer pathogenesis. A better understanding of the key factors in HCV-related oncogenesis, may efficiently direct HCC drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Benkheil
- Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium.
| | - Jan Paeshuyse
- Division Animal and Human Health Engineering, Department of Biosystems (BIOSYST), University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Johan Neyts
- Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Matthias Van Haele
- Translational Cell & Tissue Research, Department of Imaging & Pathology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Tania Roskams
- Translational Cell & Tissue Research, Department of Imaging & Pathology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Sandra Liekens
- Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Chemotherapy, Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
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Global analysis of DNA methylation in hepatocellular carcinoma by a liquid hybridization capture-based bisulfite sequencing approach. Clin Epigenetics 2015; 7:86. [PMID: 26300991 PMCID: PMC4546208 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-015-0121-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epigenetic alterations, such as aberrant DNA methylation of promoter and enhancer regions, which lead to atypical gene expression, have been associated with carcinogenesis. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), genome-wide analysis of methylation has only recently been used. For a better understanding of hepatocarcinogenesis, we applied an even higher resolution analysis of the promoter methylome to identify previously unknown regions and genes differentially methylated in HCC. RESULTS Optimized liquid hybridization capture-based bisulfite sequencing (LHC-BS) was developed to quantitatively analyze 1.86 million CpG sites in individual samples from eight pairs of HCC and adjacent tissues. By linking the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in promoters to the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), we identified 12 DMR-associated genes. We further utilized Illumina MiSeq combining the bisulfite sequencing PCR approach to validate the 12 candidate genes. Analysis of an additional 78 HCC pairs on the Illumina MiSeq platform confirmed that 7 genes showed either promoter hyper-methylation (SMAD6, IFITM1, LRRC4, CHST4, and TBX15) or hypo-methylation (CCL20 and NQO1) in HCC. CONCLUSIONS Novel methylome profiling provides a cost-efficient approach to identifying candidate genes in human HCC that may contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis. Our work provides further information critical for understanding the epigenetic processes underlying tumorigenesis and development of HCC.
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The role of chemokines in acute and chronic hepatitis C infection. Cell Mol Immunol 2013; 11:25-40. [PMID: 23954947 DOI: 10.1038/cmi.2013.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2013] [Revised: 07/08/2013] [Accepted: 07/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C imposes a significant burden on global healthcare. Chronic infection is associated with progressive inflammation of the liver which typically manifests in cirrhosis, organ failure and cancer. By virtue of elaborate evasion strategies, hepatitis C virus (HCV) succeeds as a persistent human virus. It has an extraordinary capacity to subvert the immune response enabling it to establish chronic infections and associated liver disease. Chemokines are low molecular weight chemotactic peptides that mediate the recruitment of inflammatory cells into tissues and back into the lymphatics and peripheral blood. Thus, they are central to the temporal and spatial distribution of effector and regulatory immune cells. The interactions between chemokines and their cognate receptors help shape the immune response and therefore, have a major influence on the outcome of infection. However, chemokines represent a target for modulation by viruses including the HCV. HCV is known to modulate chemokine expression in vitro and may therefore enable its survival by subverting the immune response in vivo through altered leukocyte chemotaxis resulting in impaired viral clearance and the establishment of chronic low-grade inflammation. In this review, the roles of chemokines in acute and chronic HCV infection are described with a particular emphasis placed on chemokine modulation as a means of immune subversion. We provide an in depth discussion of the part played by chemokines in mediating hepatic fibrosis while addressing the potential applications for these chemoattractants in prognostic medicine.
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Selimovic D, El-Khattouti A, Ghozlan H, Haikel Y, Abdelkader O, Hassan M. Hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: An insight into molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies. World J Hepatol 2012; 4:342-55. [PMID: 23355912 PMCID: PMC3554798 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v4.i12.342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2012] [Revised: 11/17/2012] [Accepted: 11/24/2012] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 170 million people worldwide, and thereby becomes a series global health challenge. Chronic infection with HCV is considered one of the major causes of end-stage liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although the multiple functions of the HCV proteins and their impacts on the modulation of the intracellular signaling transduction processes, the drive of carcinogenesis during the infection with HCV, is thought to result from the interactions of viral proteins with host cell proteins. Thus, the induction of mutator phenotype, in liver, by the expression of HCV proteins provides a key mechanism for the development of HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is considered one of the most common malignancies worldwide with increasing incidence during the past decades. In many countries, the trend of HCC is attributed to several liver diseases including HCV infection. However, the development of HCC is very complicated and results mainly from the imbalance between tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, as well as from the alteration of cellular factors leading to a genomic instability. Besides the poor prognosis of HCC patients, this type of tumor is quite resistance to the available therapies. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms, which are implicated in the development of HCC during the course of HCV infection, may help to design a general therapeutic protocol for the treatment and/or the prevention of this malignancy. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms, which are involved in the development of HCV-associated HCC and the possible therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Selimovic
- Denis Selimovic, Youssef Haikel, Mohamed Hassan, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U 977, 67000 Strasbourg, France
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Xiao JF, Varghese RS, Zhou B, Nezami Ranjbar MR, Zhao Y, Tsai TH, Di Poto C, Wang J, Goerlitz D, Luo Y, Cheema AK, Sarhan N, Soliman H, Tadesse MG, Ziada DH, Ressom HW. LC-MS based serum metabolomics for identification of hepatocellular carcinoma biomarkers in Egyptian cohort. J Proteome Res 2012; 11:5914-23. [PMID: 23078175 DOI: 10.1021/pr300673x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Although hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been subjected to continuous investigation and its symptoms are well-known, early stage diagnosis of this disease remains difficult and the survival rate after diagnosis is typically very low (3-5%). Early and accurate detection of metabolic changes in the sera of patients with liver cirrhosis can help improve the prognosis of HCC and lead to a better understanding of its mechanism at the molecular level, thus providing patients with in-time treatment of the disease. In this study, we compared metabolite levels in sera of 40 HCC patients and 49 cirrhosis patients from Egypt by using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF MS). Following data preprocessing, the most relevant ions in distinguishing HCC cases from cirrhotic controls are selected by statistical methods. Putative metabolite identifications for these ions are obtained through mass-based database search. The identities of some of the putative identifications are verified by comparing their MS/MS fragmentation patterns and retention times with those from authentic compounds. Finally, the serum samples are reanalyzed for quantitation of selected metabolites as candidate biomarkers of HCC. This quantitation was performed using isotope dilution by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) on a triple quadrupole linear ion trap (QqQLIT) coupled to UPLC. Statistical analysis of the UPLC-QTOF data identified 274 monoisotopic ion masses with statistically significant differences in ion intensities between HCC cases and cirrhotic controls. Putative identifications were obtained for 158 ions by mass based search against databases. We verified the identities of selected putative identifications including glycholic acid (GCA), glycodeoxycholic acid (GDCA), 3β, 6β-dihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid, oleoyl carnitine, and Phe-Phe. SRM-based quantitation confirmed significant differences between HCC and cirrhotic controls in metabolite levels of bile acid metabolites, long chain carnitines and small peptide. Our study provides useful insight into appropriate experimental design and computational methods for serum biomarker discovery using LC-MS/MS based metabolomics. This study has led to the identification of candidate biomarkers with significant changes in metabolite levels between HCC cases and cirrhotic controls. This is the first MS-based metabolic biomarker discovery study on Egyptian subjects that led to the identification of candidate metabolites that discriminate early stage HCC from patients with liver cirrhosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Feng Xiao
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, United States
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