Project description:A comprehensive screening of site-specific N-glycopeptides in serum haptoglobin (Hp), a reporter molecule for aberrant glycosylation in HCC, has been performed to characterize glycopeptide markers for NASH-related HCCs.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has dismal treatment responses to systemic therapies and is caused by both, viral and non-viral etiologies, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) 1–5. NASH - triggered by high caloric intake and sedentary lifestyle - has become an important driver for HCC development. Immunotherapy has been recently approved for HCC but stratification of responders versus non-responders has remained an unmet need 5–8. Here, we found a progressive accumulation of non-classical activated CD8+PD-1+ T-cells in livers of NASH-affected patients and mice. PD-L1/PD-1-targeted immunotherapy of NASH-induced HCC administered either at cancer-initiation or after cancer-establishment lacked beneficial effects in mice. On the contrary, PD-1-targeted immunotherapy drove hepatic necro-inflammation and increased liver cancer incidence, tumor number, and nodule size. Anti-CD8 or anti-CD8/anti-NK1.1 treatment suppressed liver cancer development, implicating CD8+ T-cells as liver cancer drivers in the context of NASH. In line, PD-1-/- mice challenged with a NASH-inducing diet displayed early-onset of liver cancer. Mechanistically, PD-1-targeted immunotherapy triggered necro-inflammation and a pro-tumorigenic environment in the context of NASH, increasing the abundance of hepatic TOX+CXCR6+ expressing CD8+PD-1+ TNF+ T-cells. Anti-CD8/anti-PD-1 or anti-TNF/anti-PD-1, but not anti-CD4/anti-PD-1 treatment reverted anti-PD1 treatment-related increase of liver inflammation, NASH severity and tumorigenesis. Gene expression profile and increased abundance of murine hepatic CD8+PD-1+ T-cells were corroborated in human CD8+PD-1+ T cells derived from NASH patients. In a meta-analysis of clinical trials testing PD-1-targeting immune checkpoint inhibitors alone (i.e. pembrolizumab) or in combination in 1656 patients with advanced HCC, immunotherapy was not favorable over to control treatment in non-viral- when compared to viral-related HCC. Similarly, in two clinical cohorts tested, patients with NASH-driven HCC had a significantly worse overall survival with PD-1-targeted immunotherapy than HCC patients with other etiologies. Our data identify non-viral etiologies, particularly NASH, as potentially non-responsive in the context of HCC immunotherapy, providing a strong rational basis for patient stratification.
Project description:Paraffin-embedded paired tumor and peri-carcinoma tissues (n=4) were obtained from the Biorepository of Fudan University Institute of Liver Cancer, which were used for the Affymetrix microarray analysis To investigate the progression of NASH to HCC, we established a differential gene expression profile by analyzing significant expression changes in pathologically confirmed NASH-HCC and peri-carcinoma specimens using Affymetrix microarrays.
Project description:To identify miRNAs that play important roles in the liver carcinogenesis from NASH, miRNA expression profiles were examined. Some miRNAs showed aberrant expression in HCC (Hepatocellular carcinoma) from NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis). These miRNAs were regulated by DNA methylation, and could be potential therapeutic targets for HCC (Hepatocellular carcinoma) from NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis).
Project description:Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH) is a significant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, a preclinical model of progressive NAFLD/NASH is largely lacking. Here, we report that mice with hepatocyte-specific deletion of Tid1, encoding a mitochondrial cochaperone, tended to develop NASH-dependent HCC. Mice with hepatic Tid1 deficiency showed impairing mitochondrial function and causing fatty acid metabolic dysregulation; meanwhile, sequentially developed fatty liver, NASH, and cirrhosis/HCC in a diethylnitrosamine (DEN) induced oxidative environment. The pathological signatures of human NASH, including cholesterol accumulation and activation of inflammatory and apoptotic signaling pathways, are also present in these mice. Clinically, low Tid1 expression was associated with unfavorable prognosis in patients with HCC. Empirically, hepatic Tid1 deficiency directly disrupts entire mitochondria that play a key role in the NASH-dependent HCC development. Overall, we established a new mouse model that develops NASH-dependent HCC and provides a promising approach to improve the treatment.
Project description:Limb expression 1-like protein (LIX1L) plays important role in various liver disorders, but its role and underlying mechanism in nonalcoholic hepatitis (NASH) and HCC progression remains obscure. Here, we report that LIX1L functions as a key integrative regulator linking lipid metabolism and inflammation, adipose tissue dysfunction and hepatic microenvironment reprogramming which promotes NASH progression. LIX1L significantly upregulated in NAFLD/NASH patients, mouse models and palmitic acid-stimulated hepatocytes. Lix1l deletion inhibits lipid deposition, inflammatory response and fibrosis in liver as well as adipocyte differentiation by downregulation of fatty acid translocase CD36 expression, alleviating NASH and associated HCC progression. In contrast, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated LIX1L overexpression exacerbates NASH progression in mice. Mechanistically, metabolic stress promotes PARP1 mediated poly-ADP-ribosylation (PARylation) of LIX1L, subsequently increasing the stability and RNA binding ability of LIX1L protein. LIX1L binds to AU-rich element (ARE) in the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of CD36 mRNA, thus attenuating CD36 mRNA decay. In NASH and associated HCC mouse models, LIX1L deficiency-mediated downregulation of CD36 suppresses adipogenesis, hepatic lipid uptake, and reprograms the tumor-prone liver microenvironment with increased cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), reduced immunosuppressive cell proportions. These data indicate a systematic function of LIX1L in the pathogenesis of NASH and underscore the PARP1/LIX1L/CD36 axis as a potential target for treatment of NASH and associated HCC.
Project description:We applied RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to study the gene expression profile in the liver of GAN DIO-NASH-HCC mice (non-tumorous tissue samples, n=9; tumor samples, n=9) and chow-fed controls (healthy liver samples, n=5)). Comparing tumour tissue of GAN DIO-NASH-HCC mice to healthy chow-fed controls, we find that tumors of GAN DIO-NASH-HCC mice show widespread regulations of genes associated with human HCC. Human HCC can be classified into three categories (S1-S3). Using the human S1-S3 gene classification described by Hoshida Y. et al. (2009), we find that GAN DIO-NASH-HCC tumors resemble the human S1 class of proliferating HCC tumors with poor prognosis.
Project description:Background& Aims: The incidence of nonhepatitis B and nonhepatitis C viral (NBNC)- HCC has been rising in recent years due to the increase in NAFLD and NASH worldwide with fibrosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of these HCC are not fully understood. Here we observed that KDM6B, an H3K27 demethylase, was commonly downregulated in human NBNC-HCC and mouse NASH-related HCC by microarray analysis. The study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanism of KDM6B downregulation in NBNC-HCC including NASH-related HCC. Approach & Results: By immunohistochemistry, KDM6B expression was decreased in 28.7% of human HCC tissues, most of which were NBNC-HCC type. The low KDM6B expression group was accompanied by NASH in the adjacent liver. The KDM6B knockout (KO) HCC cells altered pathways of lipid metabolism by microarray and GSEA analysis. The KDM6B-KO cells significantly decreased lipid accumulation and cell reduction rates. Expression of two lipid-metabolism-related genes, G0S2 and ACSL1, were suppressed in the KDM6B-KO cells and the histone H3K27 trimethylation levels at the promoter regions were decreased when compared to the wild-type cells. Knockdown of G0S2 but not ACSL1 expression showed resistance to lipotoxicity in HCC cells. Moreover, inhibition of ATGL, a downstream target of G0S2, caused a decrease in lipid accumulation and cell proliferation. Conclusions: KDM6B regulates G0S2 expression via histone demethylation of its promoter region. Decreased KDM6B-dependent G0S2 expression through the histone modification pathway causes resistance to lipotoxicity, which may be involved in the carcinogenic mechanism of NASH-related HCC among NBNC-HCC.
Project description:Maternal overnutrition affects offspring susceptibility to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Male offspring from high-fat diet (HFD)-fed dams developed a severe form of NASH, leading to highly vascular tumor formation. The cancer/testis antigen HORMA domain containing protein 1 (HORMAD1), one of 146 upregulated differentially expressed genes in fetal livers from HFD-fed dams, was overexpressed with hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1alpha) in hepatoblasts and in NASH-based hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in offspring from HFD-fed dams at 15 weeks old. Hypoxia substantially increased Hormad1 expression in primary mouse hepatocytes. Despite the presence of three putative hypoxia response elements within the mouse Hormad1 gene, the Hif-1alpha siRNA only slightly decreased hypoxia-induced Hormad1 mRNA expression. In contrast, N-acetylcysteine, but not rotenone, inhibited hypoxia-induced Hormad1 expression, indicating its dependency on nonmitochondrial reactive oxygen species production. Synchrotron-based phase-contrast micro-CT of the fetuses from HFD-fed dams showed significant enlargement of the liver accompanied by a consistent size of the umbilical vein, which may cause hypoxia in the fetal liver. Based on these findings, a maternal HFD induces fetal origins of NASH/HCC via hypoxia, and HORMAD1 is a potential therapeutic target for NASH/HCC.