TIMP3 controls cell fate to confer hepatocellular carcinoma resistance.

Inflammation enables human cancers and is a critical promoter of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). TIMP3 (Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3), a natural metalloproteinase inhibitor, controls cytokine and growth factor bioavailability to keep inflammation in check and regulate cell survival in the liver. TIMP3 is also found silenced in human cancers. We therefore tested whether Timp3 affects HCC predisposition. Remarkably, genetic loss of Timp3 protected from carcinogen-induced HCC through the immediate engagement of several tumor suppressor pathways, while tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling was dispensable for this protection. All wild-type mice developed HCC by 12 months, whereas HCC incidence was reduced to 33% at 12 months and 57% at 15 months in Timp3 null mice. Upon acute carcinogen treatment the deficient livers exhibited greater cytokine expression, but lower cell death and higher hepatocyte senescence. We found that precocious activation of p53, p38 and Notch preceded senescence and hepatic cell differentiation, and these events were conserved throughout tumorigenesis. Timp3-deficient mouse embryo fibroblasts also responded to carcinogen by favoring senescence over apoptosis. We conclude that Timp3 status determines p53, p38 and Notch coactivation to instruct hepatic cell fate and transformation and uncover mechanisms that are protective even within a pro-inflammatory microenvironment.

Gene expression profiling of human liver transplants identifies an early transcriptional signature associated with initial poor graft function.

Liver ischemia-reperfusion injury occurring in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may be responsible for early graft failure. Molecular mechanisms underlying initial poor graft function (IPGF) have been poorly documented in human. The purpose of this study was to identify the major transcriptional alterations occurring in human livers during OLT. Twenty-one RNA extracts derived from liver transplant biopsies taken after graft reperfusion were compared with 7 RNA derived from normal control livers. Three hundred seventy-one genes were significantly modulated and classified in molecular pathways relevant to liver metabolism, inflammatory response, cell proliferation and liver protection. Grafts were then subdivided into two groups based on their peak levels of serum aspartate amino transferase within 72 h after OLT (group 1, non-IPGF: 14 patients; group 2, IPGF: 7 patients). The two corresponding data sets were compared using a supervised prediction method. A new set of genes able to correctly classify 71% of the patients was defined. These genes were functionally associated with oxidative stress, inflammation and inhibition of cell proliferation. This study provides a comprehensive picture of the transcriptional events associated with human OLT and IPGF. We anticipate that such alterations provide a framework for the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms leading to IPGF.

A survey of the signaling pathways involved in megakaryocytic differentiation of the human K562 leukemia cell line by molecular and c-DNA array analysis.

The K562 cell line serves as a model to study the molecular mechanisms associated with leukemia differentiation. We show here that cotreatment of K562 cells with PMA and low doses of SB202190 (SB), an inhibitor of the p38 MAPK pathway, induced a majority of cells to differentiate towards the megakaryocytic lineage. Electronic microscopy analysis showed that K562 cells treated with PMA+SB exhibited characteristic features of physiological megakaryocytic differentiation including the presence of vacuoles and demarcation membranes. Differentiation was also accompanied by a net increase in megakaryocytic markers and a reduction of erythroid markers, especially when both effectors were present. PMA effect was selectively mediated by new PKC isoforms. Differentiation of K562 cells by the combination of PMA and SB required Erk1/2 activation, a threshold of JNK activation and p38 MAPK inhibition. Interestingly, higher concentrations of SB, which drastically activated JNK, blocked megakaryocytic differentiation, and considerably increased cell death in the presence of PMA. c-DNA microarray membranes and PCR analysis allow us to identify a set of genes modulated during PMA-induced K562 cell differentiation. Several gene families identified in our screening, including ephrins receptors and some angiogenic factors, had never been reported so far to be regulated during megakaryocytic differentiation.