The membrane traffic system has been recognized to be involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression in several types of tumors. α-taxilin is a newly identified membrane traffic-related molecule, and its up-regulation has been reported in embryonic and malignant tissues of neural origin. In the present study, we analyzed the expression of α-taxilin in relation to clinicopathological features of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and proliferative activity of the tumor determined by proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index (PCNA-LI). Twenty-nine surgically resected nodules of HCC (8 well-, 11 moderately-, and 10 poorly-differentiated) were studied. Fifteen cases showed ‘strong staining’, while 14 cases showed ‘weak staining’ for α-taxilin. A significantly higher expression of α-taxilin was observed in less-differentiated (p=0.005), and more invasive (p=0.016) HCCs. The ‘strong staining’ group showed significantly higher PCNA-LI than the ‘weak staining’ group (the medians of PCNA-LI were 59.4% vs. 14.4%, p<0.0001). We also evaluated the expression of α-taxilin in hepatoma cell lines (PLC/PRF/5, Hep G2 and HuH-6) in association with cell proliferation. The expression levels of α-taxilin protein were correlated with their growth rates. In conclusion, the expression of the α-taxilin protein was related with an increased proliferative activity and a less-differentiated histological grade of HCC. α-taxilin may be involved in cell proliferation of HCC, and its expression can be a marker of malignant potential of HCC.

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