Obesity and microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: We hypothesized that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) might have more microvascular invasion (MVI) in their tumors.

Methods: Records from 138 consecutive patients who underwent surgery at Columbia University Medical Center from January 1, 2002 to January 9, 2008 were evaluated.

Results: 40 patients (29%) had MVI, including 14% with BMI <25, 31% with BMI = 25-30, and 40% with BMI >30 (p = .

Chaperone Hsp27, a novel subunit of AUF1 protein complexes, functions in AU-rich element-mediated mRNA decay.

Controlled, transient cytokine production by monocytes depends heavily upon rapid mRNA degradation, conferred by 3' untranslated region-localized AU-rich elements (AREs) that associate with RNA-binding proteins. The ARE-binding protein AUF1 forms a complex with cap-dependent translation initiation factors and heat shock proteins to attract the mRNA degradation machinery. We refer to this protein assembly as the AUF1- and signal transduction-regulated complex, ASTRC.