Gastroenterology: Liver cancer cells may promote the growth and progression of liver cancer by manipulating interstate cells involved in liver fibrosis

JANUARY 12, 2021 // -- In a recent study published in the international journal Gastroenterology, scientists from Osaka University and other institutions found that liver cancer cells can promote tumor growth by manipulating interstate cells involved in the fibrosis process.
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is common in patients with cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse or chronic viral hepatitis, is the most common type of liver cancer among the world, and is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths, with poor prognosis.
surgery is currently the most effective way to treat hepatocellular carcinoma, but only in 10%-20% of cases in which cancer cells do not spread outside the liver.
Photo Source: Osaka University, due to the current lack of effective means to treat hepatocellular carcinoma, the researchers in this study conducted an in-depth study of the disease, they conducted research on specific cells and their processes around liver tumors, with the aim of developing new treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma.
researcher Professor Hayato Hikita explains that hepatic astrocytes (HSCs, hepatic stellate cells) are normal liver cells that play a key role in the formation of scar tissue in the liver that reacts to liver damage, and that high levels of active HSCs are often found in tumor microentic environments and are directly related to poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma;
When the researchers cultured liver cancer cells with HSCs, they observed a significant increase in the number of cancer cells, suggesting that HSCs may promote the growth of cancer cells; In the
study, researchers studied and analyzed the gene expression of cancer cells using mouse models of liver cancer, and found that cancer cells actually induce autophagy in HSCs, which in turn promotes the growth of tumors by secreting proteins called GDF15.
researcher Titsuo Takehara said: 'When we analyzed liver samples from patients with or without tumors of hepatocellular carcinoma, we found that tumor tissue samples contained high levels of GDF15;
based on the results of this paper, new targeted therapies expressed through HSCs targeting GDF15 may help treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the future.
() original source: Yuta Myojin et al. Hepatic stellate cells in hepatocellular carcinoma promote tumor growth via growth differentiation factor 15 production, Gastroenterology (2020). DOI:10.1053/j.gastro.2020.12.015