2. Academic Validation
  3. Inhibition of autophagy in macrophage promotes IL-1β-mediated hepatocellular carcinoma progression via inflammasome accumulation and self-recruitment

Inhibition of autophagy in macrophage promotes IL-1β-mediated hepatocellular carcinoma progression via inflammasome accumulation and self-recruitment

  • Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Mar 18;161:114560. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114560.
Zheng Gao 1,  Shan-Ru Feng 1,  Jia-Feng Chen 1,  Xiao-Gang Li 1,  Ying-Hong Shi 1,  Zheng Tang 1,  Wei-Ren Liu 1,  Xin Zhang 1,  Ao Huang 1,  Xuan-Ming Luo 2,  Hai-Ying Zeng 3,  Qiang Gao 1,  Guo-Ming Shi 1,  Ai-Wu Ke 1,  Jian Zhou 4,  Jia Fan 5,  Xiu-Tao Fu 6,  Zhen-Bin Ding 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 2 Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 3 Department of Pathology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 4 Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 5 Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6 Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7 Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Department of liver Surgery, Xiamen Branch, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Xiamen, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 36940618 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114560
Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a complex and changeable tumor microenvironment. Despite emerging evidence focusing on Autophagy process within immune cells, the function and regulatory mechanism of macrophage Autophagy in tumor progression remains unclear. Our results of multiplex-immunohistochemistry and RNA-sequencing identified the reduced levels of Autophagy in tumor macrophages in the HCC microenvironment, associated with a poor prognosis and increased microvascular metastasis in HCC patients. Specifically, HCC suppressed the macrophage Autophagy initiation through the up-regulation of mTOR and ULK1 phosphorylation at Ser757. Knockdown of autophagy-related proteins to further inhibit Autophagy significantly boosted the metastatic potential of HCC. Mechanistically, the accumulation of NLRP3 inflammasome mediated by Autophagy inhibition promoted the cleavage, maturation, and release of IL-1β, which facilitated the HCC progression, eventually accelerating HCC metastasis via the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Autophagy inhibition provoked macrophage self-recruitment through the CCL20-CCR6 signaling was also a crucial account of HCC progression. Recruited macrophages mediated the cascade amplification of IL-1β and CCL20 to form a novel pro-metastatic positive feedback loop through promoting HCC metastasis and increased macrophage recruitment, respectively. Notably, targeting IL-1β/IL-1 receptor signaling impaired lung metastasis induced by macrophage Autophagy inhibition in a mice HCC lung metastasis model. In summary, this study highlighted that inhibition of tumor macrophage Autophagy facilitated HCC progression by increasing IL-1β secretion via NLRP3 inflammasome accumulation and by macrophage self-recruitment through the CCL20 signaling pathway. Interruption of this metastasis-promoting loop by IL-1β blockade may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for HCC patients.

Keywords

Cancer therapy; Cytokines; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Macroautophagy; Macrophage; NLRP3 inflammasome.

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