| First Author | Cavin LG | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Cancer Res | Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 19 | Pages | 7030-8 |
| PubMed ID | 15466196 | Mgi Jnum | J:93646 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3487326 | Doi | 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-1647 |
| Citation | Cavin LG, et al. (2004) Regulation of alpha-fetoprotein by nuclear factor-kappaB protects hepatocytes from tumor necrosis factor-alpha cytotoxicity during fetal liver development and hepatic oncogenesis. Cancer Res 64(19):7030-8 |
| abstractText | Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) plays a critical role during fetal liver development and hepatic oncogenesis. Here, we have assessed whether NF-kappaB activity is required for murine hepatocellular carcinoma cell survival. We show that adenoviral-mediated inhibition of inhibitor of NF-kappaB kinase-beta (IKK-2) activity in hepatocellular carcinomas derived from transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha/c-myc bitransgenic mice leads to inhibition of NF-kappaB and promotes tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-mediated cell death of malignant hepatocytes but not the surrounding peritumorous tissue. Induction of apoptosis is accompanied by inhibition of Bcl-X(L) and XIAP, two pro-survival NF-kappaB target genes. In addition, we have identified the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a novel downstream target of NF-kappaB. We show that repression of IKK-2 activity in hepatocellular carcinomas promotes down-regulation of AFP gene expression. Likewise, genetic disruption of the RelA subunit results in reduced AFP gene expression during embryonic liver development, at a time in which fetal hepatocytes are sensitized to TNF-alpha-mediated cell killing. In this regard, we show that AFP inhibits TNF-alpha-induced cell death of murine hepatocellular carcinomas through association with TNF-alpha and inhibition of TNFRI signaling. Thus, NF-kappaB-mediated regulation of AFP gene expression during liver tumor formation and embryonic development of the liver constitutes a potential novel mechanism used by malignant and fetal hepatocytes to evade immune surveillance. |
