Objective To explore the expression and function of NDRG2 gene in human primary hepatocellular carcinoma and normal hepatic tissues. Methods The immunohistochemical ABC method， Western blot， and Real-time PCR were used to investigate the expression and content of NDRG2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic normal biopsies. Results The NDRG2 protein located in cytoplasm. The positive rate was 16.67%（5/30） and 100%（30/30） in hepatocellular carcinoma and normal hepatic tissues, respectively. The relative content of NDRG2 protein in hepatocellular carcinoma and normal hepatic tissues were 0.029 0±0.005 9 and 0.109 2±0.002 8. There were significant differences between human hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic normal biopsies both in staining positive rates and relative content（P＜0.05）. The Western blot also agreed with the result，the expression level of NDRG2 protein in hepatocellular carcinoma and normal hepatic tissues was 1.13±0.15 and 1.57±0.18， respectively, there was significant difference（P＜0.05）. Also, compared with normal hepatic tissues, the expression level of NDRG2 mRNA in carcinoma tissues was reduced significantly (0.89±0.15 vs. 1.48±0.17, P＜0.05). However, there were no significant differences in NDRG2mRNA expression between Edmondson-Steiner grades. Conclusions There possibly have difference in NDRG2 expression between human primary hepatocellular carcinoma and normal hepatic tissue. NDRG2 gene may take part in the pathogenesis of human primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Futher study will be needed to study its mechanism and function.
