OBJECTIVETo investigate the kinetic expression and alteration of nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) and its gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development.

METHODSA hepatoma model was established with N-(2-fluorenyl) acetamide (2-FAA) using male SD rats. Morphological changes and dynamic alterations of NF-kappaB and NF-kappaB mRNA of the rat livers at different stages of HCC development were observed by pathological examinations. The liver specimens from HCC patients were collected by self-control method. The expression of NF-kappaB was quantitatively analyzed by ELISA.

RESULTSHepatocytes showed vacuole-like denaturation, atypical hyperplasia, and transformation into highly differentiated cancerous hepatocytes with increasing tendencies of liver NF-kappaB and NF-kappaB mRNA expressions. The NF-kappaB positive material was granule-like and stained brown, with dot-nest-like staining localized in the nuclei and cytoplasm of HCC cells, but only in the cytoplasm of the cells of park cancer tissues. Its expression in HCC cells was stronger than that in their surrounding tissues (chi2 = 13.1, P less than 0.01). No positive relationship was found between NF-kappaB expression and histological grades, the number of tumors, or size of the tumors.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of NF-kappaB and its gene are associated with the development of HCC. To inhibit the expression may be useful to HCC therapy.