Glypican-3 (GPC-3) Structural Analysis and Cargo in Serum Small Extracellular Vesicles of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

ABSTRACT: Glypican-3 (GPC-3) is a heparin sulfate proteoglycan located extracellularly and anchored to the cell membrane of transformed hepatocytes. GPC-3 is not expressed in normal or cirrhotic liver tissue but is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Because of this, GPC-3 is one of the most important emerging immunotargets for treatment and as an early detection marker of HCC. To determine if GPC-3 domains associated with serum small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) could be used as an HCC diagnostic marker, we predicted in silico GPC-3 structural properties and tested for the presence of its full-length form and/or cleaved domains in serum sEVs isolated from patients with HCC. Structural analysis revealed that the Furin cleavage site of GPC-3 is exposed and readily accessible, suggesting

SUBMITTER: Mauro M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10342088 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature