Significance of cytoplasmic expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing liver resection

Nishi,Yusuke; Aoki,Taku; Shimizu,Takayuki; Sato,Shun; Matsumoto,Takatsugu; Shiraki,Takayuki; Sakuraoka,Yuhki; Mori,Shozo; Iso,Yukihiro; Ishizuka,Mitsuru; Kubota,Keiichi

doi:10.3892/mco.2021.2406

Significance of cytoplasmic expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing liver resection

Authors:
- Yusuke Nishi
- Taku Aoki
- Takayuki Shimizu
- Shun Sato
- Takatsugu Matsumoto
- Takayuki Shiraki
- Yuhki Sakuraoka
- Shozo Mori
- Yukihiro Iso
- Mitsuru Ishizuka
- Keiichi Kubota
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Affiliations: Second Department of Surgery, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu, Tochigi 321‑0293, Japan
Published online on: September 24, 2021 https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2021.2406
Article Number: 244
Copyright: © Nishi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is reportedly expressed in various types of cancer. However, to the best of our knowledge, the significance of subcellular expression of TERT in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been evaluated in detail. The present study evaluated TERT expression in resected HCC tumor tissues using immunohistochemistry. TERT expression was assessed in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of HCC cells. The associations between TERT expression and clinical characteristics, including expression levels of DNA‑dependent protein kinase catalytic unit (DNA‑PKcs) and 8‑hydroxyganosine (8‑OHdG), were investigated. Among the 135 HCCs, TERT expression was positive only in the cytoplasm in 86 tumors (63.7%), was positive only in the nucleus in 3 tumors (2.2%), was positive in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus in 5 tumors (3.7%) and was negative in 41 tumors (30.4%). Similar results were confirmed using another antibody for TERT. Cytoplasmic TERT expression was markedly associated with hepatitis B surface antigen, poor tumor differentiation, and expression levels of DNA‑PKcs and 8‑OHdG. However, TERT expression in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus was not significantly associated with the overall or recurrence‑free survival periods. In conclusion, TERT was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of HCC tissues. Cytoplasmic TERT expression was closely associated with hepatitis B virus‑related HCC and DNA‑PKcs expression, as well as oxidative stress.

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