Deleted in liver cancer 2 (DLC2) was dispensable for development and its deficiency did not aggravate hepatocarcinogenesis.
DLC2 (deleted in liver cancer 2), a Rho GTPase-activating protein, was previously shown to be underexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma and has tumor suppressor functions in cell culture models. We generated DLC2-deficient mice to investigate the tumor suppressor role of DLC2 in hepatocarcinogenesis and the function of DLC2 in vivo. In this study, we found that, unlike homologous DLC1, which is essential for embryonic development, DLC2 was dispensable for embryonic development and DLC2-deficient mice could survive to adulthood. We also did not observe a higher incidence of liver tumor formation or diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in DLC2-deficient mice. However, we observed that DLC2-deficient mice were smaller and had less adipose tissue than the wild type mice. These phenotypes were not due to reduction of cell size or defect in adipogenesis, as observed in the 190B RhoGAP-deficient mouse model. Together, these results suggest that deficiency in DLC2 alone does not enhance hepatocarcinogenesis.
Yau
Tai On
TO
Liver Cancer and Hepatitis Research Laboratory and SH Ho Foundation Research Laboratories, Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Leung
Thomas Ho Yin
TH
Lam
Sandra
S
Cheung
Oi Fung
OF
Tung
Edmund Kwok Kwan
EK
Khong
Pek Lan
PL
Lam
Amy
A
Chung
Sookja
S
Ng
Irene Oi Lin
IO
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017931:DNA Primers; D004052:Diethylnitrosamine / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011247:Pregnancy; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D017931:DNA Primers; D004052:Diethylnitrosamine; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C473606:Stard13 protein, mouse