New therapies for liver cancer in the pipeline

Washington -  Scientists led by one of Indian origin, have created the first mouse model demonstrating the role of a cancer promoting gene, Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1, in liver  cancer.

The mouse model represents a critical step in understanding the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer progression and could lead to novel therapies for the disease.

AEG-1 was originally cloned in the lab of the study’s co-author, Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Oncology Research and program co-leader of  Cancer Molecular Genetics at Massey, professor and chair of the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics and director of VIMM.

“My colleagues and I have been researching the role of AEG-1 in cancer development for several years and have shown it is linked to a diverse array of cancers, including liver cancer,”

Devanand Sarkar, from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, said.

“This mouse model represents a breakthrough in our ability to test and translate our laboratory findings,” he said.

The mouse model gave the researchers a deeper understanding of the role of AEG-1 in liver cancer.

Sarkar and his team confirmed AEG-1 overexpression significantly accelerated the progression of liver cancer. It also caused steatosis, or fatty liver, a mechanism that promotes inflammation

and cancer progression.

In addition, the mouse model substantiated laboratory findings that suggested that AEG-1 plays a role in protecting liver cancer cells from chemotherapeutic drugs and alters tumour

angiogenesis, or the way that new blood vessels are formed within the tumour.

The study has been published in the journal Hepatology.