Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma

Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors have been identified in a wide variety of cell types and localized on the outer mitochondrial membrane. Functionally, they interfere in intermediate metabolism in cell growth, in immunoresponse and in the differentiation of normal or malignant cells in vitro. Considering these characteristics we investigated the status of peripheral benzodiazepine receptor system in mitochondrial preparations from hepatocellular carcinoma and in the surrounding non-tumoral liver tissues of 6 patients by binding assay. The maximum number of the binding recognition sites of peripheral benzodiazepine receptors was highly increased in tumoral tissue in comparison with that found in non-tumoral tissue, normal or cirrhotic. This up-regulation may be in some way related to tumorigenesis.