Alpha-actinin 4 and tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: We examined the expression of alpha-actinin 4 (ACTN4) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, to investigate the relationships between the expression of ACTN4 and the clinicopathological features of HCC patients. We have also analyzed the relevance of ACTN4 expression and survival time after HCC patients undergo surgery. METHODS: The expression of ACTN4 was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry in 87 HCC patients. Statistical analyses were conducted with SPSS 22.0 software. RESULTS: qRT-PCR revealed that the expression of ACTN4 mRNA was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in adjacent tissues. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the positivity rate of ACTN4 was increased in HCC tissues compared with adjacent tissues (P=0.029). A Mann-Whitney U analysis revealed that positive ACNT4 expression was statistically significantly associated with the lymph node statuses of the HCC patients. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that positive ACTN4 expression was inversely correlated with the 5-year survival times of HCC patients after surgery, and this relationship was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: ACTN4 plays an important role in the carcinogenesis and progression of HCC.