FABP4 overexpressed in intratumoral hepatic stellate cells within hepatocellular carcinoma with metabolic risk factors
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE102083 | GEO | 2018/01/27
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:BACKGROUND & AIMS: Metabolic syndrome is a newly identified risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however the molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. To elucidate this issue, cross-species analysis was performed to compare gene expression patterns of HCC from human patients and melanocortin 4 receptor-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice, developing HCC with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. METHODS: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis of 746 differentially expressed orthologous genes classified HCC of 152 human patients and MC4R-KO mice into two distinct subgroups, one of which included all the mouse HCC was etiologically associated with metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes. A specific biomarker was identified by the integrative analysis, and validated with in vitro studies and other cohort patients. RESULTS: As commonly overexpressed in human and mouse metabolic disease-associated HCC, FABP4 was remarkably enriched in intratumoral activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Then, we established subclones constitutively expressing FABP4 from a human HSC cell line, in which the expression levels of inflammatory chemokines including IL1A and IL6 was upregulated through NF-κB nuclear translocation. An immunohistochemical validation study of other 106 human HCC samples indicated that FABP4-positive HSCs were distributed in tumors of 38 cases, and that the FABP4-high group was composed of patients with non-viral and non-alcoholic HCC (P=0.027) and with multiple metabolic risk factors (P<0.001) compared with the FABP4-low. CONCLUSIONS: FABP4 overexpression in HSCs could contribute to hepatocellular carcinogenesis in patients with metabolic risk factors via modulation of inflammatory pathway, and is a promising novel biomarker as well as a potential therapeutic target for this subtype of HCC.
2018-01-28 | GSE102080 | GEO
Project description:BACKGROUND & AIMS: Metabolic syndrome is a newly identified risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however the molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. To elucidate this issue, cross-species analysis was performed to compare gene expression patterns of HCC from human patients and melanocortin 4 receptor-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice, developing HCC with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. METHODS: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis of 746 differentially expressed orthologous genes classified HCC of 152 human patients and MC4R-KO mice into two distinct subgroups, one of which included all the mouse HCC was etiologically associated with metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes. A specific biomarker was identified by the integrative analysis, and validated with in vitro studies and other cohort patients. RESULTS: As commonly overexpressed in human and mouse metabolic disease-associated HCC, FABP4 was remarkably enriched in intratumoral activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Then, we established subclones constitutively expressing FABP4 from a human HSC cell line, in which the expression levels of inflammatory chemokines including IL1A and IL6 was upregulated through NF-κB nuclear translocation. An immunohistochemical validation study of other 106 human HCC samples indicated that FABP4-positive HSCs were distributed in tumors of 38 cases, and that the FABP4-high group was composed of patients with non-viral and non-alcoholic HCC (P=0.027) and with multiple metabolic risk factors (P<0.001) compared with the FABP4-low. CONCLUSIONS: FABP4 overexpression in HSCs could contribute to hepatocellular carcinogenesis in patients with metabolic risk factors via modulation of inflammatory pathway, and is a promising novel biomarker as well as a potential therapeutic target for this subtype of HCC.
2018-01-28 | GSE102079 | GEO
Project description:BACKGROUND & AIMS: Metabolic syndrome is a newly identified risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however the molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. To elucidate this issue, cross-species analysis was performed to compare gene expression patterns of HCC from human patients and melanocortin 4 receptor-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice, developing HCC with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. METHODS: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis of 746 differentially expressed orthologous genes classified HCC of 152 human patients and MC4R-KO mice into two distinct subgroups, one of which included all the mouse HCC was etiologically associated with metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes. A specific biomarker was identified by the integrative analysis, and validated with in vitro studies and other cohort patients. RESULTS: As commonly overexpressed in human and mouse metabolic disease-associated HCC, FABP4 was remarkably enriched in intratumoral activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Then, we established subclones constitutively expressing FABP4 from a human HSC cell line, in which the expression levels of inflammatory chemokines including IL1A and IL6 was upregulated through NF-κB nuclear translocation. An immunohistochemical validation study of other 106 human HCC samples indicated that FABP4-positive HSCs were distributed in tumors of 38 cases, and that the FABP4-high group was composed of patients with non-viral and non-alcoholic HCC (P=0.027) and with multiple metabolic risk factors (P<0.001) compared with the FABP4-low. CONCLUSIONS: FABP4 overexpression in HSCs could contribute to hepatocellular carcinogenesis in patients with metabolic risk factors via modulation of inflammatory pathway, and is a promising novel biomarker as well as a potential therapeutic target for this subtype of HCC.
2018-01-28 | GSE102081 | GEO
Project description:FABP4 overexpressed in intratumoral hepatic stellate cells within hepatocellular carcinoma with metabolic risk factors
| PRJNA396548 | ENA
Project description:Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), a specialized stromal cytotype in the liver, have been demonstrated to actively contribute to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. However, the previous studies were performed using HSC cell lines, and the prognostic value of intratumoral HSCs (tHSCs) was unclear. Here we isolated tHSCs from fresh human HCC tissues, and analyzed the abilities of tHSCs to promote HCC progression by using in vitro assays for cell viability, migration and invasion as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. 252 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy were enrolled for analysis of tHSCs and E-cadherin expression in tumor tissues, and 55 HCC patients for analysis of tHSCs in tumor tissues and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood. Prognostic factors were then identified. The results showed that coculture of tHSCs with HCC cells had a stronger effect on HCC cell viability, migration and invasion, accompanied with the acquisition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. In vivo cotransplantation of HCC cells with tHSCs into nude mice more efficiently promoted tumor formation and growth. Icaritin, a known apoptosis inducer of HSCs, was demonstrated to effectively inhibit tHSC proliferation in vitro and tHSC-induced HCC-promoting effects in vivo. Clinical evidence indicated that tHSCs were rich in 45% of the HCC specimens, tHSC-rich subtypes were negatively correlated either with E-cadherin expression in tumor tissues (r = -0.256, p < 0.001) or with preoperative CTCs in blood (r = -0.287, p = 0.033), and were significantly correlated with tumor size (p = 0.027), TNM staging (p = 0.018), and vascular invasion (p = 0.008). Overall and recurrence-free survival rates of tHSC-rich patients were significantly worse than those for tHSC-poor patients. Multivariate analysis revealed tHSC-rich as an independent factor for overall and recurrence-free survival. In conclusion, tHSCs provide a promising prognostic biomarker and a new treatment target for HCC.
| S-EPMC3835887 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a vital role in liver fibrosis, and a greater understanding of their regulation is required. Recent studies have focused on relationships between extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness and gene expression or cellular metabolism, but none have provided a detailed metabolic analysis of HSC changes in spheroid cultures. Accordingly, in the present study, we created an HSC spheroid culture and analyzed changes in gene expression and metabolism. Expression of ?-smooth muscle actin (?-SMA) decreased in the spheroids, suppressing proliferation. Gene expression analysis revealed the cell cycle, sirtuin signaling, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the Hippo pathway to be canonical pathways, believed to result from decreased proliferative ability or mitochondrial suppression. In the Hippo pathway, nuclear translocation of the yes-associated protein (YAP) was decreased in the spheroid, which was associated with the stiffness of the ECM. Metabolome analysis showed glucose metabolism changes in the spheroid, including glutathione pathway upregulation and increased lipid synthesis. Addition of the glycolytic product phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) led to increased spheroid size, with increased expression of proteins such as ?-SMA and S6 ribosomal protein (RPS6) phosphorylation, which was attributed to decreased suppression of translation. The results of our study contribute to the understanding of metabolic changes in HSCs and the progression of hepatic fibrosis.
| S-EPMC7279360 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hepatic fibrosis is a major consequence of chronic liver disease such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis which is undergoing a dramatic evolution given the obesity progression worldwide, and has no treatment to date. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a key role in the fibrosis process, because in chronic liver damage, they transdifferentiate from a "quiescent" to an "activated" phenotype responsible for most the collagen deposition in liver tissue. Here, using a diet-induced liver fibrosis murine model (choline-deficient amino acid-defined, high fat diet), we characterized a specific population of HSCs organized as clusters presenting simultaneously hypertrophy of retinoid droplets, quiescent and activated HSC markers. We showed that hypertrophied HSCs co-localized with fibrosis areas in space and time. Importantly, we reported the existence of this phenotype and its association with collagen deposition in three other mouse fibrosis models, including CCl4-induced fibrosis model. Moreover, we have also shown its relevance in human liver fibrosis associated with different etiologies (obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, viral hepatitis C and alcoholism). In particular, we have demonstrated a significant positive correlation between the stage of liver fibrosis and HSC hypertrophy in a cohort of obese patients with hepatic fibrosis. These results lead us to conclude that hypertrophied HSCs are closely associated with hepatic fibrosis in a metabolic disease context and may represent a new marker of metabolic liver disease progression.
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Project description:Liver fibrosis occurs in most cases of chronic liver disease, which are somewhat common, but also a potentially deadly group of diseases. In vitro modeling of liver fibrosis relies primarily on the isolation of in vivo activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) and studying them in standard tissue culture dishes (two-dimensional [2D]). In contrast, modeling of fibrosis in a biofabricated three-dimensional (3D) construct allows us to study changes to the environment, such as extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and structure, and tissue rigidity. In the current study, we used aHSCs produced through subcultures in 2D and encapsulated them in a 3D collagen gel to form spherical constructs. In parallel, and as a comparison, we used an established HSC line, LX-2, representing early and less severe fibrosis. Compared with LX-2 cells, the aHSCs created a stiffer environment and expressed higher levels of TIMP1 and LOXL2, all of which are indicative of advanced liver fibrosis. Collectively, this study presents a fibrosis model that could be incorporated with multi-cellular models to more accurately reflect the effects of a severe fibrotic environment on liver function.
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Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most common and deadliest cancers worldwide. A major contributor to HCC progression is the cross talk between tumor cells and the surrounding stroma including activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Activation of HSC during liver damage leads to upregulation of the orphan receptor endosialin (CD248), which contributes to regulating the balance of liver regeneration and fibrosis. Based on the established role of endosialin in regulating HSC/hepatocyte cross talk, we hypothesized that HSC-expressed endosialin might similarly affect cell proliferation during hepatocarcinogenesis. Indeed, the histological analysis of human HCC samples revealed an inverse correlation between tumor cell proliferation and stromal endosialin expression. Correspondingly, global genetic inactivation of endosialin resulted in accelerated tumor growth in an inducible mouse HCC model. A candidate-based screen of tumor lysates and differential protein arrays of cultured HSC identified several established hepatotropic cytokines, including IGF2, RBP4, DKK1, and CCL5 as being negatively regulated by endosialin. Taken together, the experiments identify endosialin-expressing HSC as a negative regulator of HCC progression.
| S-EPMC5452049 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is an anesthetic that is widely used in the clinic, and it has been reported to exhibit paradoxical effects in the progression of multiple solid tumors. In this study, we sought to explore the mechanism by which DEX regulates hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression underlying liver fibrosis. We determined the effects of DEX on tumor progression in an orthotopic HCC mouse model of fibrotic liver. A coculture system and a subcutaneous xenograft model involving coimplantation of mouse hepatoma cells (H22) and primary activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) were used to study the effects of DEX on HCC progression. We found that in the preclinical mouse model of liver fibrosis, DEX treatment significantly shortened median survival time and promoted tumor growth, intrahepatic metastasis and pulmonary metastasis. The DEX receptor (ADRA2A) was mainly expressed in aHSCs but was barely detected in HCC cells. DEX dramatically reinforced HCC malignant behaviors in the presence of aHSCs in both the coculture system and the coimplantation mouse model, but DEX alone exerted no significant effects on the malignancy of HCC. Mechanistically, DEX induced IL-6 secretion from aHSCs and promoted HCC progression via STAT3 activation. Our findings provide evidence that the clinical application of DEX may cause undesirable side effects in HCC patients with liver fibrosis.
| S-EPMC8080602 | biostudies-literature