Elevated Serum Vinculin in Patients with HBV/HCV-Associated Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Pilot Study

Abdallah Essa; Enas Said Essa; Sara Mahmoud El-Deeb; Hossam Eldin Mostafa Seleem; Muthana Al Sahlawi; Omar Ahmed Al-Omair; Somaia Shehab-Eldeen

doi:10.2147/BTT.S405500

Elevated Serum Vinculin in Patients with HBV/HCV-Associated Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Pilot Study

Biologics. 2023 Mar 19:17:23-32. doi: 10.2147/BTT.S405500. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Abdallah Essa^{1

2}, Enas Said Essa³, Sara Mahmoud El-Deeb³, Hossam Eldin Mostafa Seleem¹, Muthana Al Sahlawi², Omar Ahmed Al-Omair², Somaia Shehab-Eldeen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Tropical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin Elkom, Egypt.
² Internal Medicine Department, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
³ Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin Elkom, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: The stiffness of the extracellular matrix (ECM) controls many cellular processes, such as migration and differentiation. Cells detect stiffness through adhesion structures termed focal adhesions (FAs). Vinculin, an actin-binding FA protein, plays a pivotal role in FA-mediated mechanotransduction.

Aim: This study aimed to explore the role of vinculin in the development of HBV/HCV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Vinculin levels in a total number of 100 serum samples from patients with HBV/HCV-induced liver cirrhosis and HCC, as well as healthy controls, were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: In patients with HCC and liver cirrhosis, the serum vinculin levels were significantly greater than in controls (503.8±242.2 and 728.4±1044.8 vs 77.7±36.1 respectively, p<0.001). However, results showed no link between serum vinculin and the clinicopathological features of HCC.

Conclusion: Patients with HBVor HCV-induced liver cirrhosis and HCC have significantly higher serum levels of vinculin than do controls. This might point to a potential role for vinculin in the development of HCC. More research into how this protein affects the development of HCC at the molecular level could lead to better clinical treatments and the development of new molecular therapies.

Keywords: HCC; extracellular matrix; focal adhesion proteins; liver cirrhosis; vinculin.