CD133, MUC1, and KRT19 Chromosomal Rearrangements and Gene Expressions as Potential Biomarkers for Liver Cancer

Liver cancer is one of the most common malignancies characterized by unrestricted proliferation, poor prognosis, aggression, metastasis, and reduced sensitivity to drugs. Despite the advances in diagnosis and treatment, patients with liver cancer are still usually diagnosed at a late progressive stage. Thus, the optimal treatment for liver cancer patients largely depends upon an accurate early diagnosis. Hence, this study evaluated the gene expression profiles and chromosomal rearrangements of CD133, MUC1 and KRT19 genes as potential biomarkers of liver cancer using two cell lines: normal human hepatocytes (hNheps) and human hepatoma (HepG2) cell lines. From the study, it was shown that the gene expression of CD133, MUC1, and KRT19 are indeed up-regulated in liver cancer cells, and that multiple signals of these biomarkers are detected in the liver cancer sample. This suggests that the possible mechanism for elevated expression of the biomarkers is not due to the presence of an enhancer or a highly active gene promoter; rather it is because of the multiple copies, duplication, and possible translocation of these cancer biomarker genes in liver cancer cells. Finally, this study has demonstrated that the detection of chromosomal rearrangements can be used or has a potential as a diagnostic tool for liver cancer.