Chronic inflammatory IFN-γ signaling suppresses hepatocarcinogenesis in mice by sensitizing hepatocytes for apoptosis.

Abstract Chronic liver inflammation is a critical component of hepatocarcinogenesis. Indeed, inflammatory mediators are believed to promote liver cancer by upholding compensatory proliferation of hepatocytes in response to tissue damage. However, inflammation can also mediate the depletion of malignant cells, but the difference between tumor-suppressive and tumor-promoting inflammation is not defined at the molecular level. Here, we analyzed the role of the major inflammatory mediator IFN-γ in chemical hepatocarcinogenesis of transgenic mice that overexpress IFN-γ in the liver; these mice manifest severe chronic inflammatory liver damage and lasting compensatory regeneration. We found that …