Chronic Microcystin-LR Exposure Induces Hepatocarcinogenesis via Increased Gankyrin in Vitro and in Vivo

Chronic Microcystin-LR Exposure Induces Hepatocarcinogenesis via Increased Gankyrin in Vitro and in Vivo

Background/Aims: Our recent study indicated that the serum microcystin-LR (MC-LR) level is positively linked to the risk of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Gankyrin is over-expressed in cancers and mediates oncogenesis; however, whether MC-LR induces tumor formation and the role of gankyrin in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lixiong He, Yujing Huang, Qiaonan Guo, Hui Zeng, Chuanfen Zheng, Jia Wang, Ji-an Chen, Lingqiao Wang, Weiqun Shu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cell Physiol Biochem Press GmbH & Co KG 2018-09-01
Series:Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry
Subjects:
Microcystin-LR
Gankyrin
Malignant transformation
Oncogene
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Online Access:https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/493446
Description
Summary:Background/Aims: Our recent study indicated that the serum microcystin-LR (MC-LR) level is positively linked to the risk of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Gankyrin is over-expressed in cancers and mediates oncogenesis; however, whether MC-LR induces tumor formation and the role of gankyrin in this process is unclear. Methods: We induced malignant transformation of L02 liver cells via 35 passages with exposure to 1, 10, or 100 nM MC-LR. Wound healing, plate and soft agar colony counts, and nude mice tumor formation were used to evaluate the tumorigenic phenotype of MC-LR-treated cells. Silencing gankyrin was used to confirm its function. We established a 35-week MC-LR exposure rat model by twice weekly intraperitoneal injection with 10 μg/kg body weight. In addition, 96 HCC patients were tested for tumor tissue gankyrin expression and serum MC-LR levels. Results: Chronic low-dose MC-LR exposure increased proliferation, mobility, clone and tumor formation abilities of L02 cells as a result of gankyrin activation, while silencing gankyrin inhibited the carcinogenic phenotype of MC-LR-treated cells. MC-LR also induced neoplastic liver lesions in Sprague-Dawley rats due to up-regulated gankyrin. Furthermore, a trend of increased gankyrin was observed in humans exposed to MC-LR. Conclusion: These results suggest that MC-LR induces hepatocarcinogenesis in vitro and in vivo by increasing gankyrin levels, providing new insight into MC-LR carcinogenicity studies.
ISSN:1015-8987
1421-9778

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