13

Interestingly, numerous studies suggest that HMGB1 plays a role in metastasis development and thus link it to poor prognosis in a variety of cancers, including prostate, breast, liver, and colon.13 Caspase-1, a prototypical member of the inflammatory caspases, is responsible for the maturation of prointerleukin selleck kinase inhibitor (IL)-1β and pro-IL-18.14 Once activated by cellular infection or stress, including hypoxia, caspase-1 cleaves IL-1β and -18 in inflammasomes. Endogenous damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecules, such as HMGB1, are either normal cell constituents or derived from the extracellular matrix and can be released into the extracellular milieu during states of cellular stress or damage. DAMPs subsequently activate inflammasomes and promote proinflammatory responses. Cytokines downstream of caspase-1 can attract and activate immune cells to induce inflammation and affect tumor progression, including cell survival and metastasis.15, 16 Therefore, we evaluated whether this website HMGB1 could induce caspase-1 activation

and subsequently contribute to tumor invasiveness in hypoxic HCC cells. We show that HMGB1 is overly expressed in human HCC tumors, compared to noncancerous liver tissue, and is higher in the serum of patients with HCC. HMGB1 is also released from hypoxic HCC cells and then subsequently activates caspase-1. In addition, both HMGB1 receptors, TLR4 and RAGE, play important roles in hypoxia-induced

caspase-1 activation. Inhibition of HMGB1 or caspase-1 can decrease cell invasiveness in the setting of hypoxia, and knockdown of HMGB1 in HCC cells suppresses lung metastasis in a murine model of liver cancer. AIM2, absent in melanoma 2; DAMP, damage-associated molecular pattern; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HMGB1, high-mobility group box 1; IL, MRIP interleukin; NLRP, NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing protein; RAGE, receptor for advanced glycation endproducts; rhHMGB1, recombinant human high-mobility group box 1; SEM, standard error of the mean; shRNA, short hairpin RNA; siRNA, short interfering RNA; sRAGE, the soluble isoform inhibitor of the RAGE receptor; TLR, Toll-like receptor; Z-YVAD-FMK, carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-(O-methyl)-fluoromethylketone. Patient serum, human HCC, and their corresponding nontumorous liver samples were collected at the time of surgical resection at the University of Pittsburgh (institutional review board–approved serum and tumor registry). Cell lines and reagents information are described in the Supporting Materials and Methods. Male wild-type (C57BL/6) mice (8 weeks old) were purchased from Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc. (West Grove, PA).