Plasminogen activator inhibitor ( PAI-1 ) gene polymorphism (4G/5G) and hepatocellular carcinoma in Egyptian patients

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which is a part of urokinase plasminogen activation (uPA) system, had been reported to have a crucial role in the development of different types of cancers. The PAI-1 gene, located on chromosome 7, contains nine exons and eight introns. This gene is highly polymorphic, and its most common polymorphism (4G/5G) affects PAI-1 biosynthesis and consequently its circulating level. The current study investigated the distribution of genotypes and the allelic frequency of the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared to chronic HCV patients living in Egypt. Additionally, the effect of the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism on serum PAI-1 levels was assessed. The study was carried on 50 HCC and 47 chronic HCV patients using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The genotypic distributions of the 4G/5G polymorphism (5G/5G, 4G/4G, 4G/5G, and 4G/4G + 4G/5G) and the frequency of alleles (5G and 4G) were not statistically significantly different between both study groups (p > 0.05). In addition, serum levels of PAI-1did not show any significant difference between HCC patients and HCV patients regarding all different genotypes of the 5G/4G polymorphism at p > 0.05 neither between the different genotypes of the 5G/4G polymorphism in the same group at p > 0.05. Our study suggests that the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism may not be considered as one of the underlying genetic causes of hepatocarcinogenesis in chronically HCV-infected patients living in Egypt.