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Variant liver estrogen receptor transcripts already occur at an early stage of chronic liver disease
Author(s) -
Villa Erica,
Dugani Aisha,
Moles Anna,
Camellini Lorenzo,
Grottola Antonella,
Buttafoco Paola,
Merighi Annalisa,
Ferretti Ilva,
Esposito Patrizia,
Miglioli Lucia,
Bagni Alberto,
Troisi Roberto,
De Hemptinne Bernard,
Praet Marlene,
Callea Francesco,
Manenti Federico
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.510270413
Subject(s) - hepatocellular carcinoma , estrogen receptor , hbsag , estrogen , liver disease , liver biopsy , medicine , hepatitis c virus , hyperplasia , biology , endocrinology , cancer research , hepatitis b virus , pathology , biopsy , immunology , virus , breast cancer , cancer
Variant estrogen receptors may be found in hepatocellular carcinoma and may influence its natural history. Because it is not known whether their occurrence is an early or a late event during the course of chronic liver disease or whether they cluster in some subgroups of patients, we investigated a series of patients in different stages of chronic liver disease. One hundred eleven consecutive patients were studied for variant estrogen receptor transcripts by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction of RNA extracted from liver biopsy specimens. In chronic active hepatitis, variant estrogen receptor transcripts were coexpressed with wild‐type significantly more often in men than in women ( P = .029) and in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐positive subjects than in subjects positive for antibody to hepatitis C virus ( P = .0006). In hepatocellular carcinoma, again in men ( P = .004) and in HBsAg‐positive patients ( P = .0015), the variant estrogen receptor transcript was overexpressed or remained the only one expressed. Patients with liver cell dysplasia presented with the same estrogen receptor pattern than patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. This further reinforces the significance of liver cell dysplasia as a preneoplastic condition. The significantly higher occurrence of variant estrogen receptor in men (especially in HBsAg‐positive men) already at an early stage of disease, like chronic active hepatitis, suggests that the alteration of estrogen receptors, favoring uncontrolled proliferation and development of hyperplasia, might constitute a prominent mechanism facilitating neoplastic transformation especially in men.