GPC3

Overview

GPC3 (Glypican-3) is a cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan that is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but absent in normal adult liver and benign hepatic lesions. It serves dual roles: as a stem-cell/progenitor marker with adverse prognostic significance and as a component of the EASL-endorsed IHC diagnostic triplet for early HCC detection.

Alterations observed in the corpus

• GPC3 is a stem-cell/progenitor-cell signature marker that is prognostic in subsets of HCC; co-expressed with EPCAM and KRT19 PMID:24735922
• GPC3 protein expression is part of the EASL-endorsed diagnostic IHC triplet (alongside HSPA1A/HSP70 and GLUL/glutamine synthetase) for early HCC diagnosis PMID:24735922

Cancer types (linked)

• HCC — prognostic stem-cell marker and diagnostic IHC panel component in HCC PMID:24735922

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

• Co-expressed with EPCAM and KRT19 as a progenitor-cell signature in HCC PMID:24735922
• Co-expressed with HSPA1A and GLUL in the EASL-endorsed IHC diagnostic triplet PMID:24735922

Therapeutic relevance

• GPC3 is a candidate target for immunotherapy (CAR-T cells, bispecific antibodies) given its HCC-selective expression; therapeutic development ongoing at the time of the 2014 review PMID:24735922

Open questions

Sources

• PMID:24735922

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