High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

The heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin is known to accumulate in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Agrin is important for neoangiogenesis in HCC tissues, and is incorporated into newly formed vasculature, but exactly how agrin contributes to the pathology of HCC remains to be fully defi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qi-Jia Zhang, Li Wan, Han-Feng Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIMS Press 2019-08-01
Series:Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/mbe.2019368?viewType=HTML
_version_ 1818013412234362880
author Qi-Jia Zhang
Li Wan
Han-Feng Xu
author_facet Qi-Jia Zhang
Li Wan
Han-Feng Xu
author_sort Qi-Jia Zhang
collection DOAJ
description The heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin is known to accumulate in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Agrin is important for neoangiogenesis in HCC tissues, and is incorporated into newly formed vasculature, but exactly how agrin contributes to the pathology of HCC remains to be fully defined. We therefore examined the clinical relevance of agrin as it pertains to HCC progression and prognosis using tissue sections from a total of 313 HCC patients. We found that agrin expression was detectable in more HCC samples (25.4% vs. 77.1%; P < 0.05) compared to normal tissue controls. Agrin expression was notably linked to tumor size (P = 0.041) and metastasis (P = 0.034). The recurrence free survival rate of agrin-positive HCC patients was considerably lower than that of agrin-negative patients (P = 0.001). We further confirmed HCC survival to be independently correlated with tumor size, metastasis, microvascular invasion and edmondson Grade via a Cox regression analysis. Upregulation of Agrin may play a crucial role in HCC progression. Together our results suggest that Agrin has the potential to be used as a prognostic indicator in predicting HCC patient outcomes.
first_indexed 2024-04-14T06:32:50Z
format Article
id doaj.art-b78af7c6c3034ece866536bc3f790112
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1551-0018
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-14T06:32:50Z
publishDate 2019-08-01
publisher AIMS Press
record_format Article
series Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering
spelling doaj.art-b78af7c6c3034ece866536bc3f7901122022-12-22T02:07:34ZengAIMS PressMathematical Biosciences and Engineering1551-00182019-08-011667375738310.3934/mbe.2019368High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinomaQi-Jia Zhang0Li Wan 1Han-Feng Xu2Department of Oncology,The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine,Nanjing, Jiangsu,210003,ChinaDepartment of Oncology,The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine,Nanjing, Jiangsu,210003,ChinaDepartment of Oncology,The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine,Nanjing, Jiangsu,210003,ChinaThe heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin is known to accumulate in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Agrin is important for neoangiogenesis in HCC tissues, and is incorporated into newly formed vasculature, but exactly how agrin contributes to the pathology of HCC remains to be fully defined. We therefore examined the clinical relevance of agrin as it pertains to HCC progression and prognosis using tissue sections from a total of 313 HCC patients. We found that agrin expression was detectable in more HCC samples (25.4% vs. 77.1%; P < 0.05) compared to normal tissue controls. Agrin expression was notably linked to tumor size (P = 0.041) and metastasis (P = 0.034). The recurrence free survival rate of agrin-positive HCC patients was considerably lower than that of agrin-negative patients (P = 0.001). We further confirmed HCC survival to be independently correlated with tumor size, metastasis, microvascular invasion and edmondson Grade via a Cox regression analysis. Upregulation of Agrin may play a crucial role in HCC progression. Together our results suggest that Agrin has the potential to be used as a prognostic indicator in predicting HCC patient outcomes.https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/mbe.2019368?viewType=HTMLagrinhepatocellular carcinomaprogressionprognosis
spellingShingle Qi-Jia Zhang
Li Wan
Han-Feng Xu
High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering
agrin
hepatocellular carcinoma
progression
prognosis
title High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_full High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_fullStr High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_full_unstemmed High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_short High expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_sort high expression of agrin is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
topic agrin
hepatocellular carcinoma
progression
prognosis
url https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/mbe.2019368?viewType=HTML
work_keys_str_mv AT qijiazhang highexpressionofagrinisassociatedwithtumorprogressionandpoorprognosisinhepatocellularcarcinoma
AT liwan highexpressionofagrinisassociatedwithtumorprogressionandpoorprognosisinhepatocellularcarcinoma
AT hanfengxu highexpressionofagrinisassociatedwithtumorprogressionandpoorprognosisinhepatocellularcarcinoma