The Relationships Between PTEN And EMT In The Progression Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Primary hepatic carcinoma can be classified into hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)derived from hepatocytes and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(ICC)originated in the bile duct cells.And the former type is the most common occupying about 70-85% of all.It has proven that hepatitis virus infection,for example hepatitis B virus(HBV)and hepatitis C virus(HCV),aflatoxin B1(AFB1)exposure,alcoholic cirrhosis,metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes are the major risk factors which induce hepatitis first,then develop into hepatic fibrosis,eventually change into maliganancy.Currently,liver transplantation and resection has not very positively improved the prognosis of HCC patients.It is of substantial importance to study on the mechanisms of HCC initiation and development.Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10(PTEN)deletions and mutations in some tissues are reported to induce some high level malignancy such as the Cowden's syndrome which is a disorder characterized by hamartomas and an increased risk of developing certain cancers.PTEN is an antagonist of the signal path way PI3K/AKT by its phosphatase activity acting as a tumor suppressor.Epithelialmesenchymal transition(EMT)is a process that epithelial cells losing the intact connections with the cells,the matrix and the base membrane then acquiring the properties of messenchymal cells.EMT has been regarded as a main explanation for tumor metastasis.Our research focuses on the role of PTEN in the process of EMT in HCC.We found that PTEN is not downregulated and is rarely mutated in HCC comparing to the normal liver tissus.And to some extent,overexpression of PTEN will induce EMT while downregulation may inhibit it.