Differential gene expression in experimental hepatocellular carcinoma induced by woodchuck hepatitis B virus

Hepatitis B virus infection is closely linked to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the pathological mechanism of hepatocarcinogenesis by this virus is not well understood. In order to gain further insight into the molecular mechanism of HCC, we constructed and screened a subtracted c-DNA library which was specific to HCC cells of a woodchuck infected with woodchuck hepatitis B virus. Among eight clones that were isolated based on their differential expressions, we determined nucleotide sequences of two genes whose expressions were most significantly stimulated in HCC. Our results indicate that these two genes appear to be woodchuck counterpart genes of hemopexin (HPX) and α-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), suggesting that the expression of HPX and AGP genes are strongly augmented in tumor cells partly due to transcriptional regulation.