Low Adenosine Kinase in Liver may be a Risk Factor for Cancer Development

New study finds that reduced hepatic adenosine kinase expression (ADK) raises the susceptibility to the acute toxic effects of a carcinogen. Low ADK in the liver might be a risk factor and biomarker for the development of cancer. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Caffeine and Adenosine Research. Combined results from the study of human liver cancer samples and mice with reduced levels of ADK expression support these findings.

In the article entitled "Adenosine Kinase Deficiency Increases Susceptibility to a Carcinogen," Rkia El-Kharrag, Ph.D., Randy Owen, BSc, and Detlev Boison, Ph.D., Legacy Research Institute, Portland, OR, showed that 64% of patients with liver cancer had lower ADK expression.

ADK is highly expressed in the liver, where it regulates adenosine levels and is important in controlling hepatic metabolism. The researchers used transgenic technology to generate mice with reduced ADK expression and then exposed them to a carcinogen to study the effects on the animals' body weight and survival.

"These results might represent a very significant advance in the field. Further studies should confirm if adenosine kinase represents a new biomarker or a pharmacological target in liver cancer," says Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Caffeine and Adenosine Research Sergi Ferré, MD, PhD, and his research colleagues in the Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD.

Source-Eurekalert