Open Access

Association between G‑protein coupled receptor 4 expression and microvessel density, clinicopathological characteristics and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Authors:
    • Chaofan Xue
    • Shuai Shao
    • Yanli Yan
    • Si Yang
    • Shuheng Bai
    • Yinying Wu
    • Jiangzhou Zhang
    • Rui Liu
    • Hailin Ma
    • Linyan Chai
    • Xiaozhi Zhang
    • Juan Ren
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 5, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11366
  • Pages: 2609-2620
  • Copyright: © Xue et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

G‑protein coupled receptor 4 (GPR4) acts as a proton‑sensing receptor and plays a role in regulating angiogenesis. Endoglin/CD105 is a marker of cell proliferation in vascular endothelial cells, particularly in tumor vasculature cells. Although there have been several studies investigating angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), none have investigated the association between GPR4 and microvessel density (MVD)‑CD105 in this type of cancer. In the present study, CD105 and GPR4 were found to be expressed in benign and malignant liver tissues by immunofluorescence staining and laser confocal microscopy. Compared with levels in benign tissues, CD105 and GPR4 were highly expressed in neoplastic tissues. Furthermore, the average fluorescence intensity of GPR4 and MVD‑CD105 was positively correlated. GPR4 and CD105 were found to be co‑localized in the vascular endothelium in tumor tissues. Furthermore, the expression of GPR4 was higher in the marginal region of tumor tissues compared with the central region. These findings suggest that the expression of GPR4 in tumor microvessels in HCC may be implicated in tumor angiogenesis and development. Furthermore, the association between the expression of GPR4 and the clinicopathological features of patients with HCC further suggests a role for GPR4 in tumor angiogenesis and growth. Overall, these results suggest the potential of GPR4 as a prognostic factor and as an antiangiogenic target in patients with HCC.
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April-2020
Volume 19 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Spandidos Publications style
Xue C, Shao S, Yan Y, Yang S, Bai S, Wu Y, Zhang J, Liu R, Ma H, Chai L, Chai L, et al: Association between G‑protein coupled receptor 4 expression and microvessel density, clinicopathological characteristics and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma. Oncol Lett 19: 2609-2620, 2020.
APA
Xue, C., Shao, S., Yan, Y., Yang, S., Bai, S., Wu, Y. ... Ren, J. (2020). Association between G‑protein coupled receptor 4 expression and microvessel density, clinicopathological characteristics and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma. Oncology Letters, 19, 2609-2620. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11366
MLA
Xue, C., Shao, S., Yan, Y., Yang, S., Bai, S., Wu, Y., Zhang, J., Liu, R., Ma, H., Chai, L., Zhang, X., Ren, J."Association between G‑protein coupled receptor 4 expression and microvessel density, clinicopathological characteristics and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma". Oncology Letters 19.4 (2020): 2609-2620.
Chicago
Xue, C., Shao, S., Yan, Y., Yang, S., Bai, S., Wu, Y., Zhang, J., Liu, R., Ma, H., Chai, L., Zhang, X., Ren, J."Association between G‑protein coupled receptor 4 expression and microvessel density, clinicopathological characteristics and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma". Oncology Letters 19, no. 4 (2020): 2609-2620. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11366