Chemokine CXCL1 may serve as a potential molecular target for hepatocellular carcinoma

• Published in: Cancer medicine (Malden, MA) MA), 2016-10, Vol.5 (10), p.2861-2871
• Main Authors: Han, Ke‐qi, Han, Hui, He, Xue‐qun, Wang, Lei, Guo, Xiao‐dong, Zhang, Xue‐ming, Chen, Jie, Zhu, Quan‐gang, Nian, Hua, Zhai, Xiao‐feng, Jiang, Ma‐wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Cancer Biology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - genetics; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - metabolism; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Cell Line, Tumor; Chemokine CXCL1 - genetics; Chemokine CXCL1 - metabolism; Chemokine CXCL2 - genetics; Chemokine CXCL2 - metabolism; Chemokines; Chemokines - genetics; Chemokines - metabolism; Chemokines, CXC - genetics; Chemokines, CXC - metabolism; gene expression profile; Gene Expression Profiling - methods; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; hepatocellular carcinoma; Humans; Interleukin-1beta - genetics; Interleukin-1beta - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms - genetics; Liver Neoplasms - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Mice; Neoplasm Transplantation; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis - methods; Original Research; PCR array; siRNA
• ISSN: 2045-7634; 2045-7634
• DOI: 10.1002/cam4.843

The purpose of this study was to screen for changes in chemokine and chemokine‐related genes that are expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as potential markers of HCC progression. Total RNA was extracted from tumor and peritumor tissues from mice with HCC and analyzed using a PCR microarray comprising 98 genes. Changes in gene expression of threefold or more were screened and subsequently confirmed by immunohistochemical analyses and western blotting. Furthermore, whether chemokine knockdown by RNA interference (RNAi) could significantly suppress tumor growth in vivo was also evaluated. Finally, total serum samples were collected from HCC patients with HBV/cirrhosis (n = 16) or liver cirrhosis (n = 16) and from healthy controls (n = 16). The serum mRNA and protein expression levels of CXCL1 in primary liver cancer patients were detected by qRT‐PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. Several genes were up‐regulated in tumor tissues during the progression period, including CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, and IL‐1β, while CXCR1 expression was down‐regulated. CBRH‐7919 cells carrying CXCL1 siRNA resulted in decreased tumor growth in nude mice. The differences in serum CXCL1 mRNA and protein levels among the HCC, hepatic sclerosis (HS), and control groups were significant (P