Transcription factor GATA-4 is abundantly expressed in childhood but not in adult liver tumors.
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr
; 54(1): 101-8, 2012 Jan.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21788913
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Transcription factor GATA-4 is expressed in early fetal liver and essential for organogenesis. It is also implicated in carcinogenesis in several endoderm-derived organs. Hepatoblastoma (HB), the most common malignant pediatric liver tumor, has features of fetal liver including extramedullary hematopoiesis. We investigated the expression of GATA-4 and its purported target gene erythropoietin (Epo) in liver tumors and the role of GATA-4 in HB pathogenesis. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used for liver samples from patients with HB or hepatocellular carcinoma. To further investigate the role of GATA-4 in pediatric liver tumors, we used adenoviral transfections of wild-type or dominant negative GATA-4 constructs in the human HB cell line, HUH6.RESULTS:
We found abundant GATA-4 expression in both types of liver tumors in children, whereas it was absent in adult hepatocellular carcinoma. A close family member GATA-6 was expressed in a minority of childhood but not adult liver tumors. Epo, present in the fetal liver, was also expressed in childhood liver tumors. Moreover, cell line HUH6 was GATA-4 positive and produced Epo. We found that altering the amount of functional GATA-4 in HUH6 cells did not significantly affect either proliferation or apoptosis.CONCLUSIONS:
GATA-4 is abundant in pediatric liver tumors, but unraveling its exact role in these neoplasms requires further investigation.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Hepatoblastoma
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Carcinoma Hepatocelular
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Factor de Transcripción GATA4
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Feto
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Hígado
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Neoplasias Hepáticas
Límite:
Adult
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Animals
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Child
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Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr
Año:
2012
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Finlandia