Expression status of stemness-related genes in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and clarification of the carcinogenesis mechanism

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26461024
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Gastroenterology
• Research Institution: Tokyo Women's Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Kogiso Tomomi 東京女子医科大学, 医学部, 准講師 (10318082)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: steatohepatitis / stemness marker / hepatocellular carcinoma

Outline of Final Research Achievements

1)Nanog was expressed in 85% of liver tissue from patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and EpCAM was expressed in 45%. 2) A comparison of clinical parameters between patients with strongly positive/weakly positive Nanog expression revealed total-bilirubin of 0.9/0.4 mg/dL, alanine transaminase of 47/22 U/L, prothrombin time (PT) of 84/100%, and fasting blood sugar of 104/227 mg/dL with significant differences (p < 0.05). PT% was higher in the weakly positive EpCAM group (81/ 98%) than that in the strongly positive EpCAM group. 3) EpCAM expression was higher in advanced fibrosis cases. Nanog expression was higher in cases of NASH-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); therefore, it may be important in the initiation of HCC. 4) The iTRAQ technique, which detects protein expression, led to the detection of 4,000 candidate proteins. Each protein was evaluated for its role in HCC initiation and progression.

Free Research Field

肝臓病学