Expression Of Fibroblast Activation Protein In Hepatocellular Carcinoma And Its Clinical Significance

Background and objective Fibroblast activation protein(FAP)belong to the type Ⅱ transmembrane glycoprotein,is one of the members of the family of serine protein genes.FAP expression is limited in tissues and is highly expressed in mesenchymal cells during the embryonic period and suppressed shortly after birth,but it is increased again in diseases related to tissue repair and matrix reconstruction,such as wound healing,fibrosis,and cancer,FAP is highly expressed in malignant tumor cells and interstitial tumor-associated fibroblasts.In the early studies of tumor microenvironment,FAP may be of great significance in matrix construction.Therefore,it is of great practical significance to study the expression of fibroblast activated protein in hepatocellular carcinoma.This study explored the difference in FAP expression between liver tissues and liver tissues with cirrhosis,and the difference in FAP expression between liver tissues and adjacent tissues of liver cancer,to explore the correlation between FAP expression and the development of liver cirrhosis and further development of liver cancer.It explored whether FAP is related to the biological behavior and prognosis of liver cancer.It also discussed the relationship between the two and provides theoretical basis for the molecular mechanism,early diagnosis and explore new treatment methods of liver cancer.Material and method1.Specimens: 43 fresh tissue specimens were collected from the 2018 surgical resection specimens of the first affiliated hospital of China medical university in this study.Liver cancer group:40 cases of liver cancer and 40 cases of adjacent tissue(more than 2 cm from the liver cancer tissue);Cirrhosis group: Benign liver disease and liver tissue without paracancerous carcinoma in 10 cases.Liver cirrhosis in 33 cases(paracancerous liver tissue).29 males and 11 females,aged from 25 to 73 years,with an average age of 48.9 years,were confirmed by postoperative pathological examination.2.Reagent: the antibodies are mouse anti-human FAP monoclonal antibodies,respectively.3.Methods: the expression of fibroblast activated protein in tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry.The expression of FAP in normal and cirrhotic liver tissues was compared.The expression of hepatocellular carcinoma was compared with that of adjacent liver tissue.The relationship between the positive expression of fibroblast activated protein in live cancer tissue and the clinicopathological parameters was analyzed by statistical methods.4 statistical analysis: SPSS was used for statistical analysis.The expression results of normal liver tissue,cirrhotic liver tissue,liver cancer and adjacent liver tissue were compared between the two groups by x2 test and Fisher’s exact test.Result1.The high expression rate of FAP in liver cancer was 80%,significantly higher than that in paracancer tissues(45%).In the liver tissues of the liver cancer control paracancer group,the difference of FAP expression between the two groups was statistically significant.2.The expression of FAP was correlated with serum AFP and vascular invasion(P<0.05),which could not indicate that FAP expression was correlated with gender,age,degree of differentiation and tumor size of patients(P > 0.05).Conclusion1.The expression of FAP was up-regulated in HCC tissues than in paracancerous tissues,which suggested that FAP might be one of the contributing factors to the carcinogenesis of HCC.2.The expression of fibroblast activation protein was significantly correlated with serum AFP and vascular invasion in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.