Our previous study demonstrated an increased expression of aspartate β-hydroxylase (ASPH) in HCC tissues, which was associated with tumor invasiveness and a worse prognosis.
These findings demonstrate the critical involvement of ASPH in PC growth and progression, provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms leading to tumor development and growth and have important therapeutic implications.
Immunization with ASPH-loaded DCs generated cytotoxicity against cholangiocarcinoma cells in vitro and significantly suppressed intrahepatic tumor growth and metastasis, and was associated with increased CD3+ lymphocyte infiltration into the tumors.
Western blot analysis detected the approximately 86 kDa AAH protein in all five cholangiocarcinoma cell lines, and higher levels of AAH in cell lines derived from moderately or poorly differentiated compared with well-differentiated tumors.
Aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase (AAH) is overexpressed in various malignant neoplasms, and high levels of immunoreactivity mainly occur in infiltrating or metastasized tumors.