Abstract:
Background and purpose: ERp29 belongs to endoplasmic reticulum stress proteins and might play roles in neoplasm metastasis. This study aimed to investigate the expression of ERp29 in Hca-F and Hca-P cells and to elucidate its role in lymphatic metastasis. Methods: Immunohistochemistry, Western blot and flow cytometry analysis were used to detect the expression of ERp29 in Hca-F and Hca-P. Results: The results of immunohistochemistry suggested that ERp29 protein was located at cytoplasm of hepatic cells and some were also detected in the nucleus. The results of western blot suggested that ERp29 had positive expression in Hca-F and Hca-P cells. Its expression in Hca-F cells was apparently lower than that in Hca-P cells. And there was statically different between Hca-F and Hca-P cells (P<0.01). The relative fluorescence intensity of ERp29 protein was significantly lower in Hca-F cells (375.27±47.33) than that in Hca-F cells (623.91±46.80) by flow cytometry (P<0.01). Conclusion: The different expression of ERp29 may be related to the potential ability of tumor lymphatic metastasis in Hca-F and Hca-P cells.

Key words:  Endoplasmic reticulum molecular chaperons 29, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Lymphatic metastasis