Objective: To explore the relationship between the alteration in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) mRNA expression and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: Three GGT mRNA types (A, B, C) in normal liver tissue, diseased liver tissue without HCC, cancerous and noncancerous tissues from livers with HCC, noncancerous tissues from livers with metastatic tumor and peripheral blood of all the cases were tested by using RT-PCR.
Results: In normal livers, the main type of GGT mRNA was type A. In cases with liver diseases but not HCC, the proportion of the types of GGT mRNA was nearly the same as that in normal livers. The proportion of type B was significantly higher in both the cancerous and noncancerous tissues of livers with HCC than in livers without HCC (P < 0.05). The expression of type A in cancerous tissue was significantly lower than that in the tissue of livers without HCC (P < 0.05). Among the 26 cases with HCC, GGT mRNA-B was found in the peripheral blood of 12. In 10 HCC cases with negative AFP, GGT mRNA-B was found in the peripheral blood of 5.
Conclusions: GGT mRNA expression in the human liver might shift from type A to type B during the development of HCC. Fragment analysis of GGT genes might be a sensitive assay to monitor the cancerous change of hepatic cell.