[Expression of midkine and its relationship with HBV infection in hepatocellular carcinomas].

Objective: To investigate expression of midkine (MK) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its relationship with HBV infection.
Methods: Expression of MK mRNA, MK protein and HBV DNA were determined in 62 cases of human HCC and 10 cases of controls with in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.
Results: Positive rates of MK mRNA and MK protein in carcinoma tissue were 74.2% and 75.8% respectively, which were higher than in paratumorous liver tissue and normal controls (P < 0.01). Positive rate of HBV DNA in the nuclei of carcinoma tissue (62.9%) were higher than in paratumorous liver tissue (6.5%) (P < 0.01). There was a significant relationship between expression of MK mRNA and MK protein in the carcinoma tissue and HBV DNA in the nuclei of carcinoma tissue.
Conclusions: HCC overexpresses MK at the mRNA and protein level. The overexpression of the MK protein might be correlated with the existence of HBV DNA in the nuclei of carcinoma tissue.