Transcriptomic analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma reveals molecular features of disease progression and tumor immune biology.

ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in the context of chronic inflammatory liver disease and has an extremely poor prognosis. An immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment may contribute to therapeutic failure in metastatic HCC. Here, we identified unique molecular signatures pertaining to HCC disease progression and tumor immunity by analyzing genome-wide RNA-Seq data derived from HCC patient tumors and non-tumor cirrhotic tissues. Unsupervised clustering of gene expression data revealed a gradual suppression of local tumor immunity that coincided with disease progression, indicating an increasingly immunosuppressive tumor environment during HCC disease advancement. IHC examination of the spatial distribution of CD8+ T cells in tumors revealed distinct intra- and peri-tumoral subsets. D

SUBMITTER: Okrah K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6237857 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature