2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

High Resolusion Imaging and Pathological Analysis of Micro Tumor in Mouse Model for Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis-associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	16K10268
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Radiation science
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	Hara Yasuyuki 東北大学, 医学系研究科, 非常勤講師 (50636008)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	川岸直樹東北大学, 大学病院, 准教授 (00333807) 宮城重人東北大学, 大学病院, 准教授 (00420042) 亀井尚東北大学, 医学系研究科, 教授 (10436115) 権田幸祐東北大学, 医学系研究科, 教授 (80375435) 大内憲明東北大学, 医学系研究科, 客員教授 (90203710)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Keywords	金ナノ粒子造影剤 / 非アルコール性脂肪性肝炎 / 肝細胞癌 / EPR効果 / 高分解能CT解析装置
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly originated from the background of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), has been on the rise in recent years. The carcinogenic mechanisms of NASH-HCC is difficult to understood because of its complications such as diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia. Then, early diagnosis of NASH-HCC is very important. We attempted to detect early lesions in NASH-HCC model mice by using gold nanoparticle contrast agents. By using the EPR (Enhanced Permeability and Retention Effect) of gold nanoparticles, it was actually successfully detected a micro-cancer less than 1 mm. Furthermore, pathological analysis according to the degree of progression was possible by removing those small lesions as pathological sections.
Free Research Field	肝胆膵外科学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	既存のツールでは1mm未満の肝細胞癌の検出は困難であった。今回の研究で得られたように、より小さな肝細胞癌を同定し、解析することで、早期病変に特徴的な病態の解析を行うことが可能となる。このことは、腫瘍マーカーを含めた早期診断ツールの開発や、肝細胞癌の進行度に応じた治療へとつなげることができる可能性がある。