IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta), required for NF-kappaB activation, links chronic inflammation with carcinogenesis. We investigated whether IKKbeta is involved in chemically induced liver cancer, a model not involving overt inflammation. Surprisingly, mice lacking IKKbeta only in hepatocytes (Ikkbeta(Deltahep) mice) exhibited a marked increase in hepatocarcinogenesis caused by diethylnitrosamine (DEN). This correlated with enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, increased JNK activation, and hepatocyte death, giving rise to augmented compensatory proliferation of surviving hepatocytes. Brief oral administration of an antioxidant around the time of DEN exposure blocked prolonged JNK activation and compensatory proliferation and prevented excessive DEN-induced carcinogenesis in Ikkbeta(Deltahep) mice. Decreased hepatocarcinogenesis was also found in mice lacking IKKbeta in both hepatocytes and hematopoietic-derived Kupffer cells. These mice exhibited reduced hepatocyte regeneration and diminished induction of hepatomitogens, which were unaltered in Ikkbeta(Deltahep) mice. IKKbeta, therefore, orchestrates inflammatory crosstalk between hepatocytes and hematopoietic-derived cells that promotes chemical hepatocarcinogenesis.

SUMMARY The NF-κB activating kinase IKKβ suppresses early chemically-induced liver tumorigenesis by inhibiting hepatocyte death and compensatory proliferation. To study IKKβ’s role in late tumor promotion and progression, we developed a transplant system that allows initiated mouse hepatocytes to form hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) in host liver after a long latency. Deletion of IKKβ long after initiation accelerated HCC development and enhanced proliferation of tumor initiating cells. These effects of IKKβ/NF-κB were cell autonomous and correlated with increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that led to JNK and STAT3 activation. Hepatocyte-specific STAT3 ablation prevented HCC development. The negative crosstalk between NF-κB and STAT3, which is also evident in human HCC, is a critical regulator of liver cancer development and progression.

IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta) is required for NF-kappaB activation and suppression of TNFalpha-mediated liver apoptosis. To investigate how IKKbeta suppresses apoptosis, we generated hepatocyte-specific Ikkbeta knockout mice, Ikkbeta(Deltahep), which exhibit little residual NF- kappaB activity but are healthy with normal liver function. Unexpectedly, Ikkbeta(Deltahep) mice are slightly more sensitive than controls to LPS-induced liver apoptosis but are highly susceptible to liver destruction following concanavalin A (ConA)-induced T cell activation. Unlike LPS, a potent inducer of circulating TNFalpha, ConA exerts cytotoxic effects through cell-bound TNFalpha, which activates type 1 and 2 TNF receptors (TNFR). While TNFR2 does not contribute to NF-kappaB activation, it is important for ConA-induced JNK activation, which is augmented by the absence of IKKbeta. Using JNK-deficient mice we show that JNK is required for ConA-induced liver damage. Thus, the antiapoptotic function of IKKbeta, which is most critical in situations that involve cell-bound TNFalpha, is mediated partially through attenuation of JNK activity.

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In an effort to review the evidence that liver cancer stem cells exist, two fundamental questions must be addressed. First, do hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) arise from liver stem cells? Second, do HCCs contain cells that possess properties of cancer stem cells? For many years the finding of preneoplastic nodules in the liver during experimental induction of HCCs by chemicals was interpreted to support the hypothesis that HCC arose by dedifferentiation of mature liver cells. More recently, recognition of the role of small oval cells in the carcinogenic process led to a new hypothesis that HCC arises by maturation arrest of liver stem cells. Analysis of the cells in HCC supports the presence of cells with stem-cell properties (ie, immortality, transplantability, and resistance to therapy). However, definitive markers for these putative cancer stem cells have not yet been found and a liver cancer stem cell has not been isolated.