Expression of Semaphorin3B protein in human hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the expression of Semaphorin3B (SEMA3B) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and reveal its clinical significance.Methods Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were performed to examine the expression of SEMA3B protein in 56 hepatocellular carcinoma samples,matched perineoplastic tissues and 14 normal liver samples.Microvessel density (MVD) was determined by counting CD34-positive endothelial cells.Statistical methods were performed to analyse the relationships between the expression of SEMA3B and clinicopathologic factors.Results The rate of the SEMA3B-positive in HCC tissues was 42.9％ and significantly lower than that in normal liver tissues and non-cancerous adjacent liver tissues(78.6％ and 85.7％,respectively)(P＜0.05).MVD in SEMA3B-positive HCC tissus was lower than that in SEMA3B-negative HCC tissus (P＜0.05).The expression of SEMA3B was closely related to tumor nodular number,tumor size,tumor capsulation and CLIP score (P＜0.05 for all).The recurrence and metastasis rate in SEMA3B-positive group was lower than that in the negative group(P＜0.05),and the survival rate in positive group was higher than that in the negative(P＜0.05).Conclusion The expression of SE-MA3B was decreased in HCC tissues,and its expression was closely associated with tumor progression,angiogenesis and prognosis,indicating that it might seve as a predictor of prognosis and a possible novel target of antiangiogenic therapy for patients with HCC. Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Semaphorin3B; Microvessel density; Recurrence; Prognosis