Cytokeratin-19 positivity is acquired along cancer progression and does not predict cell origin in rat hepatocarcinogenesis.

ABSTRACT:

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Although the expression of the stem/progenitor cell marker cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) has been associated with the worst clinical prognosis among all HCC subclasses, it is yet unknown whether its presence in HCC is the result of clonal expansion of hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) or of de-differentiation of mature hepatocytes towards a progenitor-like cell phenotype. We addressed this question by using two rat models of hepatocarcinogenesis: the Resistant-Hepatocyte (R-H) and the Choline-methionine deficient (CMD) models. Our data indicate that the expression of CK-19 is not the result of a clonal expansion of HPCs (oval cells in rodents), but rather of a further step of preneoplastic hepatocytes towards a less differentiated phenotype and a more aggressive behavior. Indeed,

SUBMITTER: Kowalik MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4770734 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature