Abstract:
ogy, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Ji'nan 250021, China Abstract Objective: To examine the expression of GRIM-19 mRNA and protein in hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) tissue and homologous noncancerous liver tissue, to explore the correlation between GRIM-19 and p-STAT3 expression, and to analyze the functions of these proteins in the oncogenesis and progression of HCC. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the cellular distribution of GRIM-19 and p-STAT3 proteins in 10 HCC and 10 noncancerous liver tissue samples. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR ) and Western blot were used to determine the expression of GRIM-19 mRNA, GRIM-19 protein, and p-STAT3 protein in 40 specimens with HCC and corresponding noncancerous tissue of the liver. The relationship between GRIM-19 and various clinicopathologic features and the correlation between GRIM-19 and p-STAT3 were statistically analyzed. Results: In the HCC and noncancerous liver tissue, GRIM-19 protein was located in the cytoplasm, and P-STAT3 protein was located in the nuclei. The expression of GRIM-19 mRNA was significantly lower in HCC ( 0.40 ± 0.31 ) than in the corresponding noncancerous liver tissue ( 0.56 ± 0.67, P < 0.05 ), while the expression of GRIM-19 protein was consistent with the expression of GRIM-19 mRNA. By contrast, the expression of p-STAT3 protein was markedly higher in HCC ( 0.92 ± 1.40 ) than in the noncancerous liver tissue ( 0.24 ± 0.22, P < 0.05 ). The expression of GRIM-19 mRNA was correlated with the clinical stage and pylic tumor embolus, but not with gender, age, AFP, tumor size, liver cirrhosis, metastasis, or histologic grade. A similar trend was observed between these parameters and GRIM-19 protein expression. There was a negative correlation between the expression levels of GRIM-19 and p-STAT3 in HCC ( r = -0.55, P < 0.05 ). Conclusion: Low erexpression of GRIM-19 in HCC may be associated with oncogenesis, progression, and invasion. Both GRIM-19 and p-STAT3 may promote the occurrence and development of liver tumors.