Clinical value of plasmalemma vesicle associated protein in hepatocellular carcinoma

Li, Zhongyi (2025): Clinical value of plasmalemma vesicle associated protein in hepatocellular carcinoma. Dissertation, LMU München: Medizinische Fakultät

Abstract

Background: One of the most common malignant tumors in the world is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The high mortality and morbidity pose a serious threat to human health. Although various treatment methods are available, symptoms of HCC at the early stage are not obvious, and the best treatment time has often been lost after the diagnosis. For further improvement of diagnosis and therapy, it is urgent to have a deeper understanding of HCC. Methods: Multiple HCC datasets were combined for differential analysis of HCC. Differentially expressed genes screened for key genes in HCC were performed using Lasso and SVM-RFE machine learning methods. At the same time, our study also examined key genes diagnostic and prognostic capabilities. We also used single-cell sequencing data to analyze and clarify the expression levels of genes in the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between gene expression and common biomarkers. Finally, we used HCC tissue specimens from the clinic, performed Hematoxylin-Eosin staining and immunofluorescence staining, and explored the expression site and expression level of genes in tissues. Finally, we combined gene expression levels with clinical indicators to explore the clinical value of the genes. Results: A set of 7 genes were identified by the two independent analysis methods, Lasso regression and SVM-RFE. All 7 genes showed good diagnostic value in multiple HCC data sets. We found that PLVAP showed prognostic value in HCC overall survival (OS). The results of single-cell sequencing data suggested that PLVAP is highly expressed in endothelial cells in HCC tissues. The results from immunofluorescence also confirmed the results of single-cell sequencing data. PLVAP showed moderate correlation with vascular endothelial biomarkers CD31, CD34, CD105, and VEGFR2. Analyzing clinical data, we found that PLVAP is correlated with patients T stage. Patients with high expression of PLVAP have a lower T stage, and conversely, patients with low expression of PLVAP have higher T stage. Conclusion: PLVAP correlates with clinical data in HCC. Subsequent single-cell sequencing data and immunofluorescence staining confirmed that PLVAP is mainly present in vascular endothelial cells, and PLVAP expression is correlated with the patients T stage.

• Dokumententyp: Dissertationen (Dissertation, LMU München)
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften ; 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• Fakultäten: Medizinische Fakultät
• Sprache der Hochschulschrift: Englisch
• Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 16. Juni 2025
• 1. Bericht­erstatter:in: Werner, Jens