Original Articles
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2001. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 15, 2001; 7(1): 33-36
Published online Feb 15, 2001. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v7.i1.33
Effect of phosphorylation of MAPK and Stat3 and expression of c-fos and c-jun proteins on hepatocarcinogenesis and their clinical significance
De Yun Feng, Hui Zheng, Yi Tan, Rui Xue Cheng
De Yun Feng, Hui Zheng, Yi Tan, Rui Xue Cheng, Department of Pathology, Hunan Medical University, Changsha 410078, Hunan Province, China
De Yun Feng, graduated from Hunan Medical University as postgraduate in 1991, now associate professor of pathology, specialized in hepatic pathology, having 21 papers published.
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by New England Biolab, MA, USA.
Correspondence to: Dr. De Yun Feng, Department of Pathology, Hunan Medical University, Changsha 410078, Hunan Province, China. cslj4841401@public.cs.hn.cn
Telephone: 0086-731-4805407
Received: September 21, 2000
Revised: October 22, 2000
Accepted: October 29, 2000
Published online: February 15, 2001
Abstract

AIM: To study the effect of phosphorylation of MAPK and Stat3 and the expression of c-fos and c-jun proteins on hepatocellular carcinogenesis and their clinical significance.

METHODS: SP immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of p42/44MAPK, p-Stat3, ca2fos and c-jun proteins in 55 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and their surrounding liver tissues.

RESULTS: The positive rates and expression levels of p42/44MAPK, p-Stat3, c-fos and c-jun proteins in HCCs were significantly higher than those in pericarcinomatous liver tissues (PCLT). A positive correlation was observed between the expression of p42/44MAPK and c-fos proteins, and between pa2Stat3 and c-jun, but there was no significant correlation between p42/44MAPK and p-Stat3 in HCCs and their surrounding liver tissues.

CONCLUSION: The abnormalities of Ras/Raf/MAPK and JAKs/Stat3 cascade reaction may contribute to malignant transformation of hepatocytes.Hepatocytes which are positive for p42/44MAPK, c-fos or c-jun proteins may be potential malignant pre-cancerous cells. Activation of MAPK and Stat3 proteins may be an early event in hepatocellular carcinogenesis.

Keywords: liver neoplasms; mitogen-activated protein kinases; signal transduction; trans-activators; oncogenes; immunohistochemistry; precancerous conditions