This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wang, W. Articles by Feitelson, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wang, W. Articles by Feitelson, M. A.

Hepatitis B x Antigen in Hepatitis B Virus Carrier Patients with Liver Cancer¹

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens from 110 cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma were stained for hepatitis B x antigen (HBxAg), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg). Eighty-four % of these patients were HBxAg positive in their tumor cells. Among the 110 cases studied, 80 had adjacent nontumorous tissue in the same block, and 65 of these nontumorous liver tissues stained positive for HBxAg (81%). HBsAg was positive in 19% of cases within tumor tissue and 61% in surrounding nontumorous tissue. HBcAg was positive in 11% of cases within tumor tissue and 26% in surrounding nontumorous tissue. These findings show that HBxAg is a common marker in the liver of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated primary hepatocellular carcinoma and that it is closely associated with tumor cells in these individuals. In addition, the finding of HBxAg in the absence of detectable HBsAg and HBcAg in the liver tissues of many HBsAg carriers suggests that HBxAg could be expressed independent of HBV replication and implies that the synthesis of this antigen may be directed from integrated HBV DNA templates. The finding of HBxAg in the nucleus of hepatocytes from primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients with dysplasia, combined with the known trans-activating properties of HBxAg, implies that HBxAg plays one or more important roles in hepatocarcinogenesis. The finding of HBxAg in bile duct epithelium and cholangiocarcinoma tissues is compatible with the hypothesis that HBV may contribute to this other primary tumor type in the liver. Together, these results further implicate HBxAg in the pathogenesis of primary liver cancers.

¹ This work was supported by USPHS Grants CA-40737, RR-05895, CA-06927, and CA-48656; Johnson & Johnson Focused Giving Grant 830702; and an appropriation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

³ Present address: Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, 1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Received 4/ 3/91. Accepted 7/ 8/91.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Pan, Z. Lian, S. Wallet, and M. A. Feitelson The hepatitis B x antigen effector, URG7, blocks tumour necrosis factor {alpha}-mediated apoptosis by activation of phosphoinositol 3-kinase and beta-catenin J. Gen. Virol., December 1, 2007; 88(12): 3275 - 3285. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Tamori, Y. Yamanishi, S. Kawashima, M. Kanehisa, M. Enomoto, H. Tanaka, S. Kubo, S. Shiomi, and S. Nishiguchi Alteration of Gene Expression in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Integrated Hepatitis B Virus DNA Clin. Cancer Res., August 15, 2005; 11(16): 5821 - 5826. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Tu, C. Bonura, C. Giannini, H. Mouly, P. Soussan, M. Kew, P. Paterlini-Brechot, C. Brechot, and D. Kremsdorf Biological Impact of Natural COOH-Terminal Deletions of Hepatitis B Virus X Protein in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tissues Cancer Res., November 1, 2001; 61(21): 7803 - 7810. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Pan, L.-X. Duan, B. S. Sun, and M. A. Feitelson Hepatitis B virus X protein protects against anti-Fas-mediated apoptosis in human liver cells by inducing NF-{{kappa}}B J. Gen. Virol., January 1, 2001; 82(1): 171 - 182. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				I. Jaitovitch-Groisman, N. Fotouhi-Ardakani, R. L. Schecter, A. Woo, M. A. Alaoui-Jamali, and G. Batist Modulation of Glutathione S-Transferase Alpha by Hepatitis B Virus and the Chemopreventive Drug Oltipraz J. Biol. Chem., October 20, 2000; 275(43): 33395 - 33403. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Diao, A. A. Khine, F. Sarangi, E. Hsu, C. Iorio, L. A. Tibbles, J. R. Woodgett, J. Penninger, and C. D. Richardson X Protein of Hepatitis B Virus Inhibits Fas-mediated Apoptosis and Is Associated with Up-regulation of the SAPK/JNK Pathway J. Biol. Chem., March 9, 2001; 276(11): 8328 - 8340. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]