Abstract
Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a viral infection that can lead to damage of the liver. Pathogenesis of HCV depends on the presence of chronic inflammation which can develop into cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver which further leads to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Chronic HCV infection has worse disease outcome for males compared to females. There is a gap in knowledge about the inflammatory process in HCV related pathogenesis. The goal of this study was to determine mRNA expression of estrogen receptors and inflammatory proteins in HCV cirrhosis and HCV related HCC.
Methods: Diseased and normal liver tissues were obtained from NIH liver tissue bank. TNFα, ESR1, ESR2, and IL-10 mRNA expression in the selected liver tissues was analyzed using RT-qPCR in HCV related cirrhosis and HCV related HCC, compared to healthy controls. Housekeeping genes included GUSB and SRSF4 and data were analyzed using the ΔΔCt method.
Results: The mRNA expression differed between TNFα, ESR1, and ESR2 for HCV cirrhosis and HCV related HCC. TNFα mRNA expression increased with HCV associated diseases, specifically HCV cirrhosis. ESR1 mRNA expression was highest for HCV related HCC. ESR2 mRNA expression was downregulated for both HCV associated diseases. IL-10 mRNA expression will be studied in the future.
Conclusions: TNFα maybe an important player in driving chronic inflammation in liver cirrhosis and may have a contributory role in driving cellular transformation to HCC. The association of estrogen receptors to inflammatory markers TNFα will be further investigated in detail.
The study was funded by Cancer Sucks, Inc. (Bixby, OK).
Methods: Diseased and normal liver tissues were obtained from NIH liver tissue bank. TNFα, ESR1, ESR2, and IL-10 mRNA expression in the selected liver tissues was analyzed using RT-qPCR in HCV related cirrhosis and HCV related HCC, compared to healthy controls. Housekeeping genes included GUSB and SRSF4 and data were analyzed using the ΔΔCt method.
Results: The mRNA expression differed between TNFα, ESR1, and ESR2 for HCV cirrhosis and HCV related HCC. TNFα mRNA expression increased with HCV associated diseases, specifically HCV cirrhosis. ESR1 mRNA expression was highest for HCV related HCC. ESR2 mRNA expression was downregulated for both HCV associated diseases. IL-10 mRNA expression will be studied in the future.
Conclusions: TNFα maybe an important player in driving chronic inflammation in liver cirrhosis and may have a contributory role in driving cellular transformation to HCC. The association of estrogen receptors to inflammatory markers TNFα will be further investigated in detail.
The study was funded by Cancer Sucks, Inc. (Bixby, OK).
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 76 |
| State | Published - 22 Feb 2021 |
| Event | Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Research Days 2021: Poster presentation - Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Campus, Tulsa, United States Duration: 22 Feb 2021 → 26 Feb 2021 |
Conference
| Conference | Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Research Days 2021 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Tulsa |
| Period | 22/02/21 → 26/02/21 |
Keywords
- Hepatitis C Virus
- Liver Cirrhosis
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)