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The potential role of liver stem cells in initiation of primary liver cancer

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Abstract

Identification of the cellular origin of primary liver cancer remains challenging. Some data point toward liver stem cells (LSCs) or liver progenitor cells (LPCs) not only as propagators of liver regeneration, but also as initiators of liver cancer. LSCs exhibit a long lifespan and strong duplicative potential upon activation and are inclined to accumulate more mutations that can be passed down to the next generations. Recent evidence shows that dysregulation of signaling pathways associated with self-renewal of LSCs can drive their aberrant proliferation and even malignant transformation. If LSCs could be proved to be an initiator of liver carcinogenesis, they would be promising for ultra-early diagnosis and targeting therapy of liver cancer. This review mainly summarizes the potential role of LSCs in the carcinogenesis of primary liver cancer.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (2010CB945600, 2011CB966202), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30971462) and Shanghai Innovation Foundation (15JC1403900). We thank Prof. Xian Gong for the critical reading of the manuscript.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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    1. Center for Stem Cells and Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, Second Military Medical University, 800 Xiangyin Road, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

      Xiao-Song Zhi, Xiao-Yuan Zi & Yi-Ping Hu

    2. Department of Histology and Embryology, Second Military Medical University, 800 Xiangyin Road, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

      Jun Xiong

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    X.-S. Zhi and J. Xiong have contributed to this work equally.

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    Zhi, XS., Xiong, J., Zi, XY. et al. The potential role of liver stem cells in initiation of primary liver cancer. Hepatol Int 10, 893–901 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-016-9730-9

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