インターフェロンによる肝発癌予防

概要

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer- death in Japan. Majority of HCC patients are due to chronic hepatitis B or C infection. Interferon is a principal anti-viral agent for chronic viral hepatitis which has variety of biological functions. We particularly focused on the anti-proliferative function of interferon and sought to determine whether the temporal administration of IFN-β prevents hepatocarcinogenesis in a mouse model where HCC develops without necroinflammation. Hepatocarcinogenic mice that are transgenic for the hepatitis B virus X gene (HBx-Tg) were treated with IFN-β or saline (control) for 3 months, from 3 to 6 months of age, and the incidence of HCC was determined at 18 months of age. The incidence of HCC was significantly lower in the IFN-β-treated mice than the controls (0 vs 50%, P<0.01). Inhibition of DNA synthesis in hepatocytes by IFN-β was observed in the liver of HBx-Tg, without any significant induction of apoptosis. Thus, temporal administration of IFN-β has a significant preventive effect on the occurrence of HCC in a mouse model where HCC devel-ops without inflammation. The mechanisms are the inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression of hepatocytes.
新潟医学会の論文