Difference in Gene Expression for Matrix Metalloproteinase–1 Between Early and Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinomas

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Abstract
The histological observation that well–differentiated cancer cells in early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invade portal tracts and/or fibrous bands and that these fibrous tissues then disappear suggests the participation of matrix metalloproteinase–1 (MMP–1) in the degradation of fibrous tissue. To confirm this hypothesis, the authors investigated the localization of both the MMP–1 protein and its messenger RNA (mRNA) in early HCC immunohistochemically and by in situ hybridization using complementary DNA (cDNA) and synthetic antisense probe of MMP–1; they then compared the results with those in advanced HCC. MMP–1 gene transcripts and protein were observed in well–differentiated cancer cells of early HCC but not in moderately or poorly differentiated cancer cells. Thus, cancer cells producing MMP–1 in early HCC may destroy the portal tract tissue adjacent to the cancer lesion and/or the fibrous band of cirrhosis. These results seem to have demonstrated a difference in the mechanism of cancer growth and invasion between early and advanced HCCs.

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