Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University Hospital of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
Cancer Lett. 2019 Aug 28;458:113-122. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2019.05.023. Epub 2019 May 22.
Primary liver cancer ranks among the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Risk factors are closely linked to inflammation, such as viral hepatitis and alcoholic as well as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Among the pathways involved in the pathogenesis of malignant liver tumors, dysregulation of NF-κB signaling plays a prominent role. It provides a link between inflammation and cancer. To examine the role of NF-κB in a MYC-induced model of hepatocellular carcinoma we deleted NEMO (IKKγ) specifically from hepatocytes. NEMO deletion accelerated tumor development and shortened survival, suggesting a tumor-suppressive function of NF-κB signaling. We observed increased proliferation, inflammation and fibrosis, as well as activation of MAPK and STAT signaling. Importantly, deletion of NEMO modified the tumor phenotype from hepatocellular carcinoma to combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma. The intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tumor component showed increased expression of progenitor markers such as Sox9 and reduced expression of mature hepatic markers such as CPS1. In both cases tumorigenesis was reversible by turning off MYC expression. To our knowledge this is the first mouse model of combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma and may provide insights into the development of this rare malignant tumor.
原发性肝癌是全球癌症死亡的主要原因之一。危险因素与炎症密切相关,如病毒性肝炎、酒精性和非酒精性脂肪性肝炎。在恶性肝肿瘤发病机制涉及的途径中,NF-κB 信号的失调起着突出的作用。它在炎症和癌症之间提供了联系。为了研究 NF-κB 在 MYC 诱导的肝细胞癌模型中的作用,我们特异性地从肝细胞中删除了 NEMO(IKKγ)。NEMO 的缺失加速了肿瘤的发展并缩短了生存期,这表明 NF-κB 信号具有肿瘤抑制功能。我们观察到增殖、炎症和纤维化增加,以及 MAPK 和 STAT 信号的激活。重要的是,NEMO 的缺失改变了肿瘤表型,从肝细胞癌转变为混合性肝细胞胆管癌。肝内胆管癌肿瘤成分中祖细胞标志物如 Sox9 的表达增加,而成熟肝标志物如 CPS1 的表达减少。在这两种情况下,通过关闭 MYC 表达,肿瘤发生都是可逆的。据我们所知,这是首个混合性肝细胞胆管癌的小鼠模型,可能为这种罕见的恶性肿瘤的发展提供了新的见解。