Experimental Study On The Expression And Effect Of Tumor Suppressor Gene RASSF1A In Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Part I: The expression of tumor suppressor gene, RASSF1A, in hepatocellular carcinomaObjective: Study on the expression of tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the correlation with clinical factors. Methods: twenty-four primary hepatucellular carcinomas and adjacent noncancerous tissues were obtained from 24 liver cancer patients by surgical resection between Oct, 2001 and Oct, 2002 in the 1st hospital affiliated to Soochow University. Four human HCC cell lines (SMMC7721, HepG2, BEL7402, and BEL7703) were provided by Chinese Human Genome Center (CHGC) at Shanghai. RT-PCR and Northern Blot were performed for quantitative analysis of the expression of tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A in HCC. Results: RASSF1A mRNA was not detected in 67% (16/24) of the HCC, so was in 33% (8/24) of adjacent noncancerous tissues. Three of four (75%) HCC cell lines missed the expression of RASSF1A. By contrast, RASSF1A was expressed in all normal liver and normal liver cell line (L02). In addition, the inactivation of RASSF1A has notable significant correlation with clinical factors, such as: hepatocirrhosis, HBsAg and metastasis. Conclusion: Novel gene, RASSF1A, is a candidate tumor suppressor gene and plays an important role in HCC. Testing for RASSF1A expression should become useful in HCC early detection and diagnosisand aid estimation of prognosis by combining the potential clinical status of HCC progression.