Study of vimentin serum level and gene methylation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Background: The Vimentin protein (VIM) is highly prevalent among the proteins belonging to the type III IF protein family, which is present in mesenchymal cells. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of vimentin concentration in serum and methylation of vimentin gene in detecting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: This current work had been performed on 60 subjects which assigned into two groups [Group I: involved 40 cirrhotic individuals with HCC, classified into two equal subgroups as follows (Group I A: with metastatic HCC and Group I B: 20 HCC patients without metastasis), Group (II): involved 40 cirrhotic individuals and without HCC] and 20 healthy subjects as control. Results: A significant positive association existed between serum vimentin and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) in the two groups IA and IB (p