Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE77323: p62, upregulated during preneoplasia, induces hepatocellular carcinogenesis by maintaining survival of stressed HCC-initiating cells

Bulk RNA sequencing

p62/SQSTM1 is a ubiquitin-binding autophagy receptor and signaling protein that accumulates in premalignant liver diseases and most hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Although p62 was proposed to participate in formation of benign adenomas in autophagy-deficient livers, its role in HCC initiation was not explored. Here we show that p62 is necessary and sufficient for HCC induction in mice and that its high expression level in non-tumor human liver predicts rapid HCC recurrence after curative ablation. High p62 expression is needed for activation of NRF2 and mTORC1, c-Myc induction and protection of HCC-initiating cells from oxidative stress-induced death. SOURCE: Jorge Moscat (jmoscat@sanfordburnham.org) - Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute