Mutational screening of the negative regulatory region of astrocyte elevated gene-1 promoter in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Abstract

Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is a positive regulator of tumorigenesis in human cancer cells. Human AEG-1 gene is located in chromosome 8q22 having 12 exons/11 introns. Chromosome 8q22 is known to be a hot spot for genomic alterations in several cancerous cells involving HCC. The aim of the study was assess association between the negative regulatory region of AEG-1 promoter mutations and genetic susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma. The negative regulatory region of the human AEG-1 promoter was evaluated in a total of 50 Iranian hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) patients. For investigating AEG-1 promoter polymorphisms the PCR-sequencing method was used. In this study was found two new mutation C>T (-633) and G>C (-660) in the patient group. But it was not revealed the statistically significant association between any mutations in this region of the AEG-1 promoter with HCC susceptibility. According to presented data, we can say that the negative regulatory region of the AEG-1 promoter mutations did not exihibit significant relevance with hepatocellular carcinoma. We recommend further studies on the efficacy of the AEG-1 promoter in therapeutic targeting of the HCC.