Serum 90K/MAC-2BP Glycoprotein in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Comparison with α-Fetoprotein

Abstract

Glycoprotein 90K/MAC-2BP is a member of the scavenger receptor cystein-rich protein superfamily, which is thought to be involved in immune surveillance, defending the body against pathogens and cancer. 90K serum levels are elevated in patients with cancer of various origins and in viral infections, such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Because in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is high, in the present paper we examined, by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the 90K serum levels in 103 patients with liver cirrhosis, and in 69 with HCC, and compared them to alpha-fetoprotein, the reference tumor marker for this neoplasm. Serum levels of 90K (cut-off 14 microg/ml) were elevated both in cirrhosis (39%) and HCC (46%) compared to controls (14.1 microg/ml vs. 10.6 microg/ml in cirrhosis, and 14.8 microg/ml vs. 9.1 microg/ml in HCC, p < or = 0.001). There was a significant association with the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. 90K was found to be a non-specific tumor marker which is complementary to alpha-fetoprotein on the basis of its probable different biological significance. In fact, 74% of HCC patients had at least one positive marker. Combined use of 90K and alpha-fetoprotein could improve the sensitivity of a single test in the diagnosis of HCC.

The Conserved Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich Superfamily in Therapy and Diagnosis

“…These results were confirmed by later work showing that Mac-2BP serum levels significantly correlated with overall survival of HCC patients under 70 years of age (Iacovazzi et al, 2001). In this case, determination of Mac-2BP and ␣-fetoprotein-the reference marker for HCC-together was better correlated to prognosis than AFP determination alone.…”

Galectin-3-binding protein: a serological and histological assessment in accordance with hepatitis C-related liver fibrosis

“…The absence of galectin-3-binding protein stain at the actual fibrotic lesions as well as lack of correlation with inflammation in our study, suggest a possible indirect involvement in hepatitis C-related liver fibrosis [53]. In addition, the increase in protein levels in sera and tissue could also be an indication of early neoplastic events [17,20].…”

“…Difference in serum levels of galectin-3-binding protein in cirrhotic patients due to etiology has previously been observed [17]; in this regard, we investigated whether post-translational glycosylation has an intrinsic effect on protein expression in hepatitis C-and alcohol-related cirrhosis. However, this was not the case, suggesting a more in vivo alteration in gene or protein regulation due to difference in molecular pathway [3,4,[43][44][45][46][47].…”

“…Galectin-3-binding protein is a secreted 90 kDa Nglycosylated protein with affinity for galectins as well as extracellular matrix proteins [12]. Sudden increase in serum galectin-3-binding protein levels have been reported in various infectious and cancerous diseases, including hepatitis C [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

“…Furthermore, we investigated the role of glycosylation in the difference of serum galectin-3-binding protein expression in 6 6 hepatitis C-and alcohol-related cirrhosis [17,23]. We chose cirrhosis for this comparison due to substantial difference in fibrogenesis and pathological scoring systems in pre-cirrhotic stages [24].…”