Regulatory effect of Yinchenhao decoction on bile acid metabolism to improve the inflammatory microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma in mice

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with extremely high mortality. The tumor microenvironment is the "soil" of its occurrence and development, and the inflammatory microenvironment is an important part of the "soil". Bile acid is closely related to the occurrence of HCC. Bile acid metabolism disorder is not only directly involved in the occurrence and development of HCC but also affects the inflammatory microenvironment of HCC. Yinchenhao decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine formula, can regulate bile acid metabolism and may affect the inflammatory microenvironment of HCC. To determine the effect of Yinchenhao decoction on bile acid metabolism in mice with HCC and to explore the possible mechanism by which Yinchenhao decoction improves the inflammatory microenvironment of HCC by regulating bile acid metabolism, we established mice model of orthotopic transplantation of hepatocellular carcinoma. These mice were treated with three doses of Yinchenhao decoction, then liver samples were collected and tested. Yinchenhao decoction can regulate the disorder of bile acid metabolism in liver cancer mice. Besides, it can improve inflammatory reactions, reduce hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis, and even reduce liver weight and the liver index. Taurochenodeoxycholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, and taurohyodeoxycholic acid are important molecules in the regulation of the liver inflammatory microenvironment, laying a foundation for the regulation of the liver tumor inflammatory microenvironment based on bile acids. Yinchenhao decoction may improve the inflammatory microenvironment of mice with HCC by ameliorating hepatic bile acid metabolism.

Hypoxia-induced myeloid derived growth factor promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through remodeling tumor microenvironment

Purpose: Exploring and studying the novel target of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been extremely important for its treatment. The principal objective of this project is to investigate whether myeloid derived growth factor (MYDGF) could accelerate the progression of HCC, and how it works. Methods: Cell proliferation, clonal formation, sphere formation and xenograft tumor experiments were used to prove the critical role of MYDGF in HCC progression. Tumor angiogenesis, immune cell infiltration, macrophage chemotaxis and inflammatory cytokines detection were utilized to clarify how MYDGF remodeled the tumor microenvironment (TME) to accelerate the progress of HCC. Results: Here, we reported a secretory protein MYDGF, which could be induced by hypoxia, was significantly upregulated in HCC and associated with poor clinical outcomes. Using bioinformatics and experimental approaches, we found that MYDGF promotes cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo through a mechanism that might involve enhanced self-renewal of liver CSCs. Furthermore, MYDGF can also promote tumor angiogenesis, induce macrophages to chemotaxis into tumor tissue, and then release various inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6 and TNF-α, which ultimately aggravate inflammation of tumor microenvironment and accelerate HCC progression. Conclusions: We provided evidence that MYDGF could directly affect the self-renewal of liver CSCs, and indirectly aggravate the inflammatory microenvironment to accelerate the progression of HCC.