Abstract:

Liver cancer (LC), the most common malignant tumor with a high mortality rate, has been a globally tricky health problem characterized by difficult detection and diagnosis. Transcription factor 7 like 2 (TCF7L2) is the transcription factor in the canonical Wnt/β-catenin singnaling pathway, and β-catenin directly activates TCF7L2. During liver development and regeneration, the activation of canonical Wnt/β-catenin induces the formation of liver tissue. However, in normal mature healthy hepatocytes, β-catenin is inhibited. Liver damage and LC initiate the event that TCF7L2 transcriptionally activites downstream damaged targets in the β-catenin-dependent manner. The expression of TCF7L2 is positively correlated with the occurrence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. TCF7L2 is a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.

Key words:

Liver cancer, Wnt/β-catenin, TCF7L2

摘要：

肝癌（liver cancer，LC）是最常见的致命恶性肿瘤，而早期不易被发现、难诊断，是其高致死率的主要原因。转录因子7样2（transcription factor 7 like 2，TCF7L2）是Wnt/β连环蛋白（β-catenin）信号通路的转录因子，β-catenin对TCF7L2的激活具有直接调控作用。在肝发育和肝再生阶段，激活Wnt/β-catenin信号通路可促进肝组织的生成。然而，在正常的成熟肝细胞中，β-catenin活性被抑制。肝损伤和肝癌激活β-catenin对TCF7L2的转录功能活化，诱导肝损伤因子和促肝癌因子的表达，且TCF7L2的表达与肝癌的发生和进展呈正相关。TCF7L2是一个潜在的肝癌诊断及治疗靶点。

关键词:

肝癌, Wnt/β-catenin, TCF7L2