Hepatocyte-stellate cell cross-talk in the liver engenders a permissive inflammatory microenvironment that drives progression in hepatocellular carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Many solid malignant tumors arise on a background of inflamed and/or fibrotic tissues, features that are found in more than 80% hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC) play a critical role in fibrogenesis associated with HCC onset and progression, yet their functional impact on hepatocyte fate remains largely unexplored. Here, we used a coculture model to investigate the cross-talk between hepatocytes (human hepatoma cells) and activated human HSCs. Unsupervised genome-wide expression profiling showed that hepatocyte-HSC cross-talk is bidirectional and results in the deregulation of functionally relevant gene networks. Notably, coculturing increased the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and modified the phenotype of hepatocytes toward motile cells. Hep

SUBMITTER: Coulouarn C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3498759 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature