Intranuclear inclusions in hepatocellular carcinoma contain autophagy-associated proteins and correlate with prolonged survival.

ABSTRACT: For decades, intranuclear inclusions in many normal and neoplastic cells have been considered to be mere invaginations of cytoplasm into the nucleus without any notable function or influence on disease. We investigated such inclusions in 75 specimens of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this context we demonstrate that these inclusions are true inclusions, completely closed and delimited by the nuclear membrane, containing degenerate cell organelles and lysosomal proteins. Moreover, their occurrence was positively associated with patient survival but not with tumour grade or stage. In a standardised area a mean of 124 inclusions per specimen was present in the tumorous liver tissue in contrast to 5 inclusions in the non-tumorous adjacent section and 89% of all scrutinised HCC showed at le

SUBMITTER: Schwertheim S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6648385 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature