New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis

Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicina / Tesi realitzada a l'Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL)

Bibliographic Details
Author: Caballero Díaz, Daniel
Format: Doctoral thesis
Status:Published version
Publication date:2018
Country:España
Institution:CBUC, CESCA
Repository:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/669195
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/669195
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Càncer de fetge
Cáncer de hígado
Liver cancer
Carcinogènesi
Carcinogénesis
Carcinogenesis
Proteïnes
Proteínas
Proteins
Factors de creixement
Factores de crecimiento
Growth factors
Ciències de la Salut
577
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author Caballero Díaz, Daniel
author_browse Caballero Díaz, Daniel
author_facet Caballero Díaz, Daniel
author_role author
collection TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
description Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicina / Tesi realitzada a l'Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL)
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
format doctoralThesis
id ES_21efcdf6aaa3bb3ebb4f7fb4da5f0b5e
institution CBUC, CESCA
instname_str CBUC, CESCA
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
oai_identifier_str oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/669195
publishDate 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher Universitat de Barcelona
publisherStr Universitat de Barcelona
reponame_str TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
spelling New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis Caballero Díaz, Daniel Càncer de fetge Cáncer de hígado Liver cancer Carcinogènesi Carcinogénesis Carcinogenesis Proteïnes Proteínas Proteins Factors de creixement Factores de crecimiento Growth factors Ciències de la Salut 577 Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicina / Tesi realitzada a l'Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL) Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers. During hepatocarcinogenesis (a multistep process) there is a disruption of the balance between cell death and survival signalling pathways, where pro-apoptotic molecules are down-regulated/inactivated, and pro-survival pathways are over-activated. Some of these de-regulated signals are the Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-β) and the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) pathway. The EGFR pathway is involved in the development and progression of hepatocarcinogenesis. EGF expression in the liver increases during cirrhosis and plays a role in both cirrhosis and HCC. In HCC cells, TGF-β can up-regulate the expression of different EGFR ligands and activate Src, Akt, and ERKs signalling pathways. The pro-tumorigenic cytokine TGF-β, is not the only pro-inflammatory molecule which EGFR interacts with. HCC is a clear example of inflammatory-related cancer and during the initial stages, exist chronic tissue damage and inflammation in the liver that result in overactivation of EGFR pathway. In addition, in HCC cells when EGFR pathway is down-regulated (by different mechanisms), the suppressor effects of TGF-β are coincident with increased up-regulation of NOX4 (NADPH-oxidases family member). In hepatocytes, NOX4 is required for the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis induced by TGF-β and it acts as a negative regulator of cell growth in hepatocytes and liver tumour cells. Interestingly, EGF inhibits NOX4 expression acting at transcriptional level on NOX4 promoter. We have previously reported that EGFR pathway impairs the suppressor arm of TGF-β pathway in hepatocytes and liver tumour cells in vitro. Whether this effect may be relevant in vivo has not been explored yet. Furthermore, recent results have emphasized the essential role of intracellular trafficking proteins –caveolin-1 and clathrin– in the regulation of TGF-β and EGF receptors. However, less is known about how these proteins affects TGF-β and EGFR signalling pathways. Recently we reported that caveolin-1 is necessary for TGF-β induction of anti-apoptotic signalling in hepatocytes in a Src/NOX1-dependent manner. Furthermore, caveolin-1 has an essential role in switching the response to TGF-β from cytostatic to tumourigenic in liver tumour cells. Nevertheless, the role of clathrin in the crosstalk between these two signalling pathways and its relevance was barely known. To clear up the role of the EGFR in the process of hepatocarcinogenesis our group generated a novel transgenic mouse model expressing a hepatocyte-specific truncated form of the human EGFR, which acts as negative dominant mutant (∆EGFR) and allows defining its tyrosine kinase-dependent functions. These mice were treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) to induce liver fibrosis or diethylnitrosamine (DEN) to induce liver tumorigenesis. Results presented here propose that EGFR is crucial in the first stages of liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinogenesis. Interestingly, the most relevant role of EGFR during both processes seems the regulation of the inflammatory liver environment. Hepatocytes and liver tumour cells have the ability to express pro- and/or anti-inflammatory signals whose balance would determinate the liver disease progression. In this process, the crosstalk with non-parenchymal cells, such as Kupffer cells or Hepatic Stellate cells, plays an essential role. Moreover, we show that trafficking proteins could have a significant role during the tumorigenic crosstalk between EGFR and TGF-β. In this context, clathrin may favour a switch of TGF-β to its anti-apoptotic role through EGFR, promoting survival and pro-tumorigenic advantages to liver cancer cells. Indeed, HCC patients present elevated levels of clathrin in tumoral tissue, highlighting its relevance for HCC progression. Chronic liver diseases are the consequence of deregulation in multifactor and multipath networks which articulate the molecular mechanisms that underlie liver tumorigenesis. This thesis proposes new insights about the role of inflammatory process and trafficking receptor proteins in the crosstalk between EGFR and TGF-β during liver chronic diseases. Universitat de Barcelona http://hdl.handle.net/10803/669195
spellingShingle New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
Caballero Díaz, Daniel
Càncer de fetge
Cáncer de hígado
Liver cancer
Carcinogènesi
Carcinogénesis
Carcinogenesis
Proteïnes
Proteínas
Proteins
Factors de creixement
Factores de crecimiento
Growth factors
Ciències de la Salut
577
status_str publishedVersion
title New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
title_full New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
title_fullStr New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
title_full_unstemmed New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
title_short New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
title_sort New experimental approaches to study the relevance of the TGF-β and EGFR signalling during liver tumorigenesis
topic Càncer de fetge
Cáncer de hígado
Liver cancer
Carcinogènesi
Carcinogénesis
Carcinogenesis
Proteïnes
Proteínas
Proteins
Factors de creixement
Factores de crecimiento
Growth factors
Ciències de la Salut
577
topic_facet Càncer de fetge
Cáncer de hígado
Liver cancer
Carcinogènesi
Carcinogénesis
Carcinogenesis
Proteïnes
Proteínas
Proteins
Factors de creixement
Factores de crecimiento
Growth factors
Ciències de la Salut
577
url http://hdl.handle.net/10803/669195