Fibrous stromal component in hepatocellular carcinoma reveals a cholangiocarcinoma-like gene expression trait and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC) are the major primary liver cancers in adults. It has been shown the phenotypic overlap between HCC and CC, comprising continuous liver cancer spectrum. As a proof of concept, a recent study has demonstrated a genomic subtype of HCC expressing CC-like gene expression trait, i.e. CC-like HCC, which has revealed common genomic trait of stem cell-like property and aggressive clinical outcome. However, the histopathological characteristics of these intermediate phenotype was not fully evaluated yet. Here, we found that a variant HCC with fibrous stromal component, i.e. scirrhous HCC, has CC-like genomic features. By performing gene expression profiling and immunohistochemical evaluation, we compared the morphological and molecular features of scirrhous HCC with CC and classical HCC. We found that the scirrhous HCC express both CC-like and stem cell-like expression traits. In addition, we observed the expression of core epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes, which may contribute to the aggressive behavior of scirrhous HCC. Over-expression of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling was also found, implying its regulatory role in the pathobiology of scirrhous HCC. Conclusion: We suggest that the fibrous stromal component in HCC may contribute to the acquisition of CC-like gene expression trait in HCC. The expression of stem cell-like trait and TGF-β/EMT molecules may play pivotal roles in the aggressive phenotype of scirrhous HCC
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE31370 | GEO | 2012/08/31
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA145895
REPOSITORIES: GEO
ACCESS DATA