Wang MQ, Li YP, Xu M, Tian Y, Wu Y, Zhang X, Shi JJ, Dang SS, Jia XL. VCAN, expressed highly in hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma, is a potential biomarker for immune checkpoint inhibitors. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2022; 14(10): 1933-1948 [PMID: 36310697 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v14.i10.1933]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xiao-Li Jia, Doctor, Chief Doctor, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. drjxl.123@xjtu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Basic Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mu-Qi Wang, Ya-Ping Li, Yan Tian, Xin Zhang, Juan-Juan Shi, Shuang-Suo Dang, Xiao-Li Jia, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
Meng Xu, Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
Yuan Wu, Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Jia XL and Dang SS designed the study; Zhang X, Wu Y, Li YP, and Jia XL collected all samples in the study; Wang MQ, Wu Y, and Tian Y collected the data; Wang MQ and Xu M performed the statistical analysis; Wang MQ, Li YP, and Jia XL drafted the manuscript; Xu M, Jia XL, and Li YP made critical revisions to the manuscript; Jia XL, Xu M and Shi JJ provided financial support; and all authors read and approved the manuscript.
Supported bythe National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 31500650 and 81902449; the Key Research & Development Program-Social Development of Shaanxi Province, No. 2020SF-063; and Shaanxi Key Research and Development Plans, No. 2021SF-227.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committees of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (Approval No. 2019-1093).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Li Jia, Doctor, Chief Doctor, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. drjxl.123@xjtu.edu.cn
Received: May 21, 2022 Peer-review started: May 21, 2022 First decision: July 13, 2022 Revised: July 23, 2022 Accepted: September 12, 2022 Article in press: September 12, 2022 Published online: October 15, 2022 Processing time: 145 Days and 20 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Existing studies have shown that chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, including VCAN, is a key component in the tumor microenvironment and may play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Research motivation
The role of VCAN in HCC has not yet been elucidated, especially in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC.
Research objectives
This study aimed to investigate the expression and potential mechanism of action of VCAN in HCC.
Research methods
We tested VCAN expression in serum of patients with HBV-associated HCC and cirrhosis, and explore the underlying mechanism of VCAN in HCC by bioinformatics methods.
Research results
VCAN may be a possible biomarker for the prognosis of HCC. VCAN was associated with HBV e antigen in HBV infected patients. VCAN may play a role in HCC through the extracellular matrix signaling pathway and inflammatory immune response.
Research conclusions
High VCAN level could be a possible biomarker for the poor prognosis of HCC, and its immunomodulatory mechanism in HCC deserves attention.
Research perspectives
Future studies will be conducted to explore the immune mechanism of VCAN in HBV-associated HCC.
