Imbalanced gut microbiota fuels hepatocellular carcinoma development by shaping the hepatic inflammatory microenvironment
Schneider, Kai Markus ; Mohs, Antje ; Gui, Wenfang ; Galvez, Eric J C ; Candels, Lena Susanna ; Hoenicke, Lisa ; Muthukumarasamy, Uthayakumar ; Holland, Christian H ; Elfers, Carsten ; Kilic, Konrad ... show 10 more
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Authors
Mohs, Antje
Gui, Wenfang
Galvez, Eric J C
Candels, Lena Susanna
Hoenicke, Lisa
Muthukumarasamy, Uthayakumar
Holland, Christian H
Elfers, Carsten
Kilic, Konrad
Schneider, Carolin Victoria
Schierwagen, Robert
Strnad, Pavel
Wirtz, Theresa H
Marschall, Hanns-Ulrich
Latz, Eicke
Lelouvier, Benjamin
Saez-Rodriguez, Julio
de Vos, Willem
Strowig, Till
Trebicka, Jonel
Trautwein, Christian
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UMass Chan Affiliations
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Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and therapeutic options for advanced HCC are limited. Here, we observe that intestinal dysbiosis affects antitumor immune surveillance and drives liver disease progression towards cancer. Dysbiotic microbiota, as seen in Nlrp6-/- mice, induces a Toll-like receptor 4 dependent expansion of hepatic monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (mMDSC) and suppression of T-cell abundance. This phenotype is transmissible via fecal microbiota transfer and reversible upon antibiotic treatment, pointing to the high plasticity of the tumor microenvironment. While loss of Akkermansia muciniphila correlates with mMDSC abundance, its reintroduction restores intestinal barrier function and strongly reduces liver inflammation and fibrosis. Cirrhosis patients display increased bacterial abundance in hepatic tissue, which induces pronounced transcriptional changes, including activation of fibro-inflammatory pathways as well as circuits mediating cancer immunosuppression. This study demonstrates that gut microbiota closely shapes the hepatic inflammatory microenvironment opening approaches for cancer prevention and therapy.
Source
Schneider KM, Mohs A, Gui W, Galvez EJC, Candels LS, Hoenicke L, Muthukumarasamy U, Holland CH, Elfers C, Kilic K, Schneider CV, Schierwagen R, Strnad P, Wirtz TH, Marschall HU, Latz E, Lelouvier B, Saez-Rodriguez J, de Vos W, Strowig T, Trebicka J, Trautwein C. Imbalanced gut microbiota fuels hepatocellular carcinoma development by shaping the hepatic inflammatory microenvironment. Nat Commun. 2022 Jul 8;13(1):3964. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31312-5. PMID: 35803930; PMCID: PMC9270328.