NLRP12 suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma via downregulation of cJun N-terminal kinase activation in the hepatocyte
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States
- MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly human cancer associated with chronic inflammation. The cytosolic pathogen sensor NLRP12 has emerged as a negative regulator of inflammation, but its role in HCC is unknown. Here we investigated the role of NLRP12 in HCC using mouse models of HCC induced by carcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Nlrp12-/- mice were highly susceptible to DEN-induced HCC with increased inflammation, hepatocyte proliferation, and tumor burden. Consistently, Nlrp12-/- tumors showed higher expression of proto-oncogenes cJun and cMyc and downregulation of tumor suppressor p21. Interestingly, antibiotics treatment dramatically diminished tumorigenesis in Nlrp12-/- mouse livers. Signaling analyses demonstrated higher JNK activation in Nlrp12-/- HCC and cultured hepatocytes during stimulation with microbial pattern molecules. JNK inhibition or NLRP12 overexpression reduced proliferative and inflammatory responses of Nlrp12-/- hepatocytes. In summary, NLRP12 negatively regulates HCC pathogenesis via downregulation of JNK-dependent inflammation and proliferation of hepatocytes.
Data availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supplemental materials. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of gut bacteria was analyzed and the raw data were submitted to NCBI. Data source and accession numbers were included in the manuscript.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RP160169)
- Md. Hasan Zaki
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: This study was performed under the protocol #2016-101683 which was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). All animal experiments were conducted in accordance with the IACUC guidelines and the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Reviewing Editor
- Xuetao Cao, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China
Publication history
- Received: July 24, 2018
- Accepted: March 25, 2019
- Accepted Manuscript published: April 16, 2019 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: April 25, 2019 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2019, Udden et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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NLRP12 suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma via downregulation of cJun N-terminal kinase activation in the hepatocyte
eLife 8:e40396.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.40396
Further reading
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- Cancer Biology
- Computational and Systems Biology
Apicobasal cell polarity loss is a founding event in epithelial–mesenchymal transition and epithelial tumorigenesis, yet how pathological polarity loss links to plasticity remains largely unknown. To understand the mechanisms and mediators regulating plasticity upon polarity loss, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of Drosophila ovaries, where inducing polarity-gene l(2)gl-knockdown (Lgl-KD) causes invasive multilayering of the follicular epithelia. Analyzing the integrated Lgl-KD and wildtype transcriptomes, we discovered the cells specific to the various discernible phenotypes and characterized the underlying gene expression. A genetic requirement of Keap1-Nrf2 signaling in promoting multilayer formation of Lgl-KD cells was further identified. Ectopic expression of Keap1 increased the volume of delaminated follicle cells that showed enhanced invasive behavior with significant changes to the cytoskeleton. Overall, our findings describe the comprehensive transcriptome of cells within the follicle cell tumor model at the single-cell resolution and identify a previously unappreciated link between Keap1-Nrf2 signaling and cell plasticity at early tumorigenesis.
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- Cancer Biology
- Medicine
Background:
Sarcomas comprise approximately 1% of all human malignancies; treatment resistance is one of the major reasons for the poor prognosis of sarcomas. Accumulating evidence suggests that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including miRNAs, long ncRNAs, and circular RNAs, are important molecules involved in the crosstalk between resistance to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy via various pathways.
Methods:
We searched the PubMed (MEDLINE) database for articles regarding sarcoma-associated ncRNAs from inception to August 17, 2022. Studies investigating the roles of host-derived miRNAs, long ncRNAs, and circular RNAs in sarcoma were included. Data relating to the roles of ncRNAs in therapeutic regulation and their applicability as biomarkers for predicting the therapeutic response of sarcomas were extracted. Two independent researchers assessed the quality of the studies using the Würzburg Methodological Quality Score (W-MeQS).
Results:
Observational studies revealed the ectopic expression of ncRNAs in sarcoma patients who had different responses to antitumor treatments. Experimental studies have confirmed crosstalk between cellular pathways pertinent to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy resistance. Of the included studies, W-MeQS scores ranged from 3 to 10 (average score = 5.42). Of the 12 articles that investigated ncRNAs as biomarkers, none included a validation cohort. Selective reporting of the sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating curves was common.
Conclusions:
Although ncRNAs appear to be good candidates as biomarkers for predicting treatment response and therapeutics for sarcoma, their differential expression across tissues complicates their application. Further research regarding their potential for inhibiting or activating these regulatory molecules to reverse treatment resistance may be useful.
Funding:
This study’s literature retrieval was supported financially by the 345 Talent Project of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University (M0949 to Tao Zhang).
