Original Articles
Copyright ©The Author(s) 1998. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 15, 1998; 4(4): 320-322
Published online Aug 15, 1998. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v4.i4.320
HBx-DNA probe preparation and its application in study of hepatocarcinogenesis
Feng-Guang Gao, Wen-Sheng Sun, Ying-Lin Cao, Li-Ning Zhang, Jing Song, Hua-Fen Li, Shi-Kun Yan
Feng-Guang Gao, Wen-Sheng Sun, Ying-Lin Cao, Li-Ning Zhang, Jing Song, Hua-Fen Li, Shi-Kun Yan, Department of Microbiology, Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Feng-Guang Gao, male, born on 1967-06-12 in Fengxian County, Jiangsu Province, graduated from Shandong Medical University as a postgraduate in 1996, majoring microbiology, having 8 papers published.
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Feng-Guang Gao, Department of Microbiology, Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Telephone: +86-516-5748477
Received: December 2, 1997
Revised: January 2, 1998
Accepted: February 14, 1998
Published online: August 15, 1998
Abstract

AIM: To study the role of HBV especially HBx Open Reading Frame (ORF) in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: HBV 3.2 kb fragment was retrieved by digesting recombinant plasmid pBR322-2HBV with EcoR I, and HBx 0.59 kb fragments by digesting HBV-DNA with BamH I and Bgl II. These fragments were labelled with digoxigenin to get HBV-DNA and HBx-DNA probes. HBV-DNA was detected in HCC by dot blot and Southern blot hybridization with HBV-DNA probe, so the positive specimens in which HBV-DNA were integrated were selected. HBx-DNA was subsequently detected in the selected specimens with HBx-DNA probe.

RESULTS: HBV-DNA was detected in 75% HCC, among which integrated type, integrated + free type covered 63.6% and 36.4%. There was no free type. HBx-DNA was detected in 90.5% specimens of integrated type.

CONCLUSION: Hepatocarcinogenesis was highly related to HBV-DNA integration, and HBV-DNA mainly integrated into chromosome with incomplete virus DNA fragments among which HBx fragment was the predominant one.

Keywords: hepatitis B virus; liver neoplasms/ etiology; carcinoma, hepatocellular/etiology; DNA probe