title: Chronic inflammation: is it the driver or is it paving the road for malignant transformation?
abstract: Chronic inflammation in well-defined mouse models such as Giα2 knock out mouse has been shown to trigger formation and expansion of hypoxic niches and also leads to up regulation of NFĸB, offering cells which have adapted their genetic machinery to hypoxia a unique survival advantage. These adapted cells have been shown to acquire stem cell-like capabilities as shown by up regulation of stem cell markers. Such long lived cells become permanent residents in sub mucosa and acquire a malignant phenotype from long-term exposure to noxious environmental agents due to a barrier defect secondary to down regulation of barrier proteins such as Zo1 and Occludin. Indeed mitotic spindle disorientation in such mice has been proposed as another contributory factor to malignant transformation. Sterilization of bowel lumen of these mice through different techniques has prevented malignant transformation in the presence of chronic inflammation. These facts stand strongly against chronic inflammation as a true driver of carcinogenesis but clearly support its role in facilitating the emergence of the neoplastic clone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kambiz
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Afrasiabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Yi-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fleischman
keywords: Chronic inflammation; Free energy; JAK2V617F; bioenergetics; driver mutation; electric field and cancer; metabolomics; p53 Rb