Tumour suppressors in liver carcinogenesis.
The circuitous cell signalling pathways of hepatocytes comprise several factors that operate to downgrade or even interrupt the transmission of a given signal. These down-regulating influences are essential to keep cell proliferation and cell survival in check and if impaired, can alter a delicate balance in favour of cell proliferation. Each signalling pathway that has been implicated in carcinogenesis is influenced by both oncogenic factors that promote tumour growth when activated as well as tumour suppressor proteins that have to be impaired to favour tumour growth. This summary of the Tumour Suppressors in Liver Carcinogenesis Symposium held at the 2007 EASL Annual Meeting discusses four pathways with pre-eminent tumour suppressor activity, each involved in hepatocarcinogenesis: p53, mTOR, beta-catenin and hedgehog.
Dufour
Jean-François
JF
Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. jf.dufour@ikp.unibe.ch
Huber
Otmar
O
Kozma
Sara C
SC
Lu
Xin
X
Toftgård
Rune
R
D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D022781:Hepatocytes; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D011494:Protein Kinases; D015398:Signal Transduction; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D051176:beta Catenin
D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin; D011494:Protein Kinases; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases