To date, a few cellular markers have been identified that correlate well with the pathology of this disease and serve as good prognostic markers.16 Our results indicate that MTA1 is a permissive host factor for O. viverrini infection, and pathological changes in the liver prompted us to investigate whether MTA1 could be a potential selleck diagnostic marker for liver fluke-induced CCA. To address this notion, we used a TMA approach involving immunohistochemical analysis of MTA1. The TMA was comprised of (n

= 305) liver tissue cores from confirmed O. viverrini–induced CCA cases.16, 17 In these samples, MTA1 expression was found to be high in hyperplastic bile ducts (P ≤ 0.01) when compared with levels in normal bile ducts (Fig. 6A). Overall, 80% of tissue cores stained positive for MTA1 (Table 1). In general, MTA1 was predominantly localized (≈64%) in the nucleus of most tissue cores (Fig. 6B, top panel). However, it was not uncommon to observe MTA1′s localization in the nucleus and cytoplasm of ≈15% of samples (Fig 6B,

middle panel). Interestingly, we also found evidence of the cytoplasmic localization of MTA1 in a small number (≈1%) of samples (Fig. 6B, bottom panel). Furthermore, active stromal fibroblasts in the tumor tissue also showed MTA1 expression (Fig. 6C), raising the possibility of MTA1 involvement in stroma–tumor interactions. Epidemiological findings have long associated infection with the liver fluke O. viverrini and CCA, an aggressive tumor arising in the biliary epithelium of the bile duct.14 Infection with O. viverrini APO866 cell line leads to pathological changes in the biliary tree and the liver.12 Despite the significance of host–parasite interactions, little is known about the nature

of host factors that support successful infection and maintenance of the liver fluke. However, it can be expected that O. viverrini worms exploit host factors for establishment, development, and successful parasitism at large. Based on the recently established role of MTA1 in oncogenesis and inflammation,24-29 we explored previously unknown links between parasitism by O. viverrini and this coregulator using an Mta1 null mouse model of infection23 find more and a TMA of liver fluke–induced human tumor specimens.16 MTA1, is a master coregulator of putative target genes with roles in several cellular processes.28, 35 Overexpression of MTA1 has been associated with a variety of cancers, and previous investigations have established a distinct role for MTA1 in mediating inflammatory responses.24-28 We hypothesized that parasitic helminths use similar host-regulatory factors such as MTA1 for successful infection. We tested this hypothesis by infecting age-matched Mta1+/+ and Mta1−/− mice with metacercariae, the infective stage of O. viverrini.