# Glypican-3

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/gpc3/  
OnCo record `gpc3` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Glypican-3 is a fetal liver protein that reappears in liver cancer, giving CAR-T and bispecifics a clean target.

## Summary

Glypican-3 is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan that modulates Wnt and Hedgehog signalling; it is a fetal liver protein expressed in 70-80% of hepatocellular carcinoma and essentially absent from normal adult liver, which gives cell and bispecific therapies a clean target. It is also found in hepatoblastoma and yolk-sac tumours. Antibodies failed as monotherapy (codrituzumab), suggesting that simply binding GPC3 is not enough. GPC3 CAR-T, including armoured constructs from AstraZeneca/Neogene and Chinese groups, and GPC3×CD3 bispecifics are showing responses, though durability and the hostile liver microenvironment remain concerns. The simple version is a liver-development protein that reappears in liver cancer, letting engineered immune cells recognise the tumour.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Tags: car-t-target
- Symbol: GPC3
- Class: surface-antigen
- Biology: Glypican-3 is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan modulating Wnt and Hedgehog signalling.
- Where found: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Hepatoblastoma; Yolk-sac tumours

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glypican_3
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glypican_3

## Connected records

- cancers: [Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (BCLC C)](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc-advanced/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/)
- drugs: [AZD9793](https://onco.cc/drugs/azd9793/)
- technologies: [CAR-T cell therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/car-t/)
- pathways: [Hepatocellular carcinoma (KEGG map)](https://onco.cc/pathways/hepatocellular-carcinoma-signalling/), [Proteoglycans in cancer](https://onco.cc/pathways/proteoglycans-in-cancer/), [Wnt / β-catenin](https://onco.cc/pathways/wnt/)
- roadmaps: [Cell therapy roadmap: CD19 CAR-T → solid tumours → in vivo CAR](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/cell-therapy-roadmap/)
- ideas: [In vivo CAR-T against solid-tumour antigens](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-in-vivo-car-solid/)
- people: [Zonghai Li](https://onco.cc/people/li-zonghai/)
- institutions: [Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University](https://onco.cc/institutions/zhongshan-hospital-fudan/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/gpc3.json