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Xie L, Qiu S, Lu C, Gu C, Wang J, Lv J, Fang L, Chen Z, Li Y, Jiang T, Xia Y, Wang W, Li B, Xu Z. Gastric cancer-derived LBP promotes liver metastasis by driving intrahepatic fibrotic pre-metastatic niche formation. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:258. [PMID: 37789385 PMCID: PMC10546721 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02833-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liver metastasis (LM) is one of the most common distant metastases of gastric cancer (GC). However, the mechanisms underlying the LM of GC (GC-LM) remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the tumour-secreted protein associated with GC-LM and to investigate the mechanisms by which this secreted protein remodels the liver microenvironment to promote GC-LM. METHODS Data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS), mRNA expression microarray, quantitative real-time PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed to identify and validate the GC-secreted proteins associated with GC-LM. A modified intrasplenic injection mouse model of LM was used to evaluate the progression and tumour burden of LM in vivo. Flow cytometry, immunofluorescence (IF), western blots (WB) and IHC were performed to validate the pre-metastatic niche (PMN) formation in the pre-modelling mouse models. mRNA sequencing of PMA-treated THP-1 cells with or without lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) treatment was used to identify the functional target genes of LBP in macrophages. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), WB, ELISA, IF and Transwell assays were performed to explore the underlying mechanism of LBP in inducing intrahepatic PMN formation. RESULTS LBP was identified as a critical secreted protein associated with GC-LM and correlated with a worse prognosis in patients with GC. LBP activated the TLR4/NF-κB pathway to promote TGF-β1 secretion in intrahepatic macrophages, which, in turn, activated hepatic satellite cells (HSCs) to direct intrahepatic fibrotic PMN formation. Additionally, TGF-β1 enhanced the migration and invasion of incoming metastatic GC cells in the liver. Consequently, selective targeting of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway with galunisertib demonstrated its efficacy in effectively preventing GC-LM in vivo. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study provide compelling evidence that serological LBP can serve as a valuable diagnostic biomarker for the early detection of GC-LM. Mechanistically, GC-derived LBP mediates the crosstalk between primary GC cells and the intrahepatic microenvironment by promoting TGF-β1 secretion in intrahepatic macrophages, which induces intrahepatic fibrotic PMN formation to promote GC-LM. Importantly, selectively targeting the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway with galunisertib represents a promising preventive and therapeutic strategy for GC-LM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Xie
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Shengkui Qiu
- Department of General Surgery, Nantong First People's Hospital, Affiliated Hospital 2 of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, 226001, China
| | - Chen Lu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Chao Gu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Jihuan Wang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Jialun Lv
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Lang Fang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Zetian Chen
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Tianlu Jiang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Yiwen Xia
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Weizhi Wang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China
| | - Bowen Li
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China.
| | - Zekuan Xu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China.
- Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 211166, China.
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