Effect of bax,bcl-2 and bcl-xL on regulating apoptosis in tissues of normal liver and hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM:To investigate the expression of bax,bcl-2 and bcl-xLmRNA in the tissues of normal liver and hepatocellularcarcinoma(HCC),and analyze the relationship between theexpression of bax,bcl-2 and bcl-xl mRNA and clinicalparameters of HCC patients.METHODS:The expression of bax,bcl-2 and bcl-xL mRNAof normal liver and HCC was measured by Northern blot.Statistical analyses were made by t test and correlationanalysis.RESULTS:A very low mRNA level was indicated at bax,bcl-2 and bcl-xL in the HCC tissues in contrast to the tissuesof normal liver by Northern blot analysis.The analyses ofmRNA level revealed that HCC tissues exhibited a mean7.6-fold decrease in bax,4.2-fold in bcl-2 and 3.5-fold inbcl-xL in comparison with normal control tissues,respectively.Positive correlation was found between bax and bcl-xL(r=0.7061,P<0.01).There was no significance between themRNA expression of these three genes and age,gender,tumor differentiation and tumor stage of HCC patients.CONCLUSION:The results are consistent with the fact thatapoptosis rarely occurs in normal livers but increases in HCC,indicating that bcl-2 and bcl-xL may play a very importantrole in regulating the apoptosis of normal liver and HCC.