Upregulation of Leucine Zipper Protein mRNA in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Associated With Poor Prognosis.

BACKGROUND

Leucine zipper protein (LUZP) plays key roles in development. Overexpression of LUZP was documented in several types of solid tumors. In this study, expression of LUZP messenger RNA (LUZP mRNA) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was examined, and the correlations of LUZP mRNA level with patients' characteristics and prognosis were also investigated.

METHODS

Total RNA was extracted from HCC and paired noncancerous liver tissues of 77 patients. Expression of LUZP mRNA in the tissues was determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Using average LUZP mRNA level in noncancerous liver tissues as the cutoff, patients with HCC were categorized into high-expression group and low-expression group. Correlations of LUZP mRNA with clinical parameters were analyzed. Overall survival of the patients in the 2 groups was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

The LUZP mRNA level was significantly higher in HCC samples than in the noncancerous liver tissues (1.87 ± 0.11 vs 0.58 ± 0.05, P < .01). Significant differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of portal vein invasion, Tumor Lymph Node Metastasis (TNM) stage, and recurrence of HCC. The current study failed to find significant differences between the 2 groups in clinical characteristics such as age, gender, lymph node metastasis, hepatitis B virus infection, family HCC history, and alcohol intake. Overall survival in high-expression group was 12 months while that in the low-expression group was 34 months (P = .03).

CONCLUSION

The LUZP mRNA is a prognostic indicator in HCC, and overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC.