Du JY, Zhang CT, Li T, Li YP. Targeting hypoxia and angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma: New insights and therapeutic strategies. World J Hepatol 2024; 16(12): 1371-1376 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i12.1371]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ya-Ping Li, MD, PhD, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 157 West 5th Road, Xincheng District, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. liyaping8605@xjtu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Dec 27, 2024; 16(12): 1371-1376 Published online Dec 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i12.1371
Targeting hypoxia and angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma: New insights and therapeutic strategies
Jia-Yi Du, Chu-Ting Zhang, Ting Li, Ya-Ping Li
Jia-Yi Du, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
Chu-Ting Zhang, Ting Li, Ya-Ping Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Du JY and Li YP wrote the original manuscript; Du JY, Li T, and Li YP contributed to the conceptualization of the manuscript; Du JY, Zhang CT, and Li T contributed to the methodology design and software application; Zhang CT validated the manuscript as well as formally analyzed the article; Li YP supervised the article, and project managed it; Li YP and Zhang CT reviewed and edited the article.
Supported by the Basic and Clinical Integration Project of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. YXJLRH2022067.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ya-Ping Li, MD, PhD, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 157 West 5th Road, Xincheng District, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. liyaping8605@xjtu.edu.cn
Received: September 19, 2024 Revised: October 15, 2024 Accepted: October 29, 2024 Published online: December 27, 2024 Processing time: 74 Days and 3.5 Hours
Abstract
In this manuscript we comment on the article by Yang et al published recently, focusing on how hepatic angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) transcription promote the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is one of the most common and lethal malignancies worldwide, especially in regions with high hepatitis B virus infection rates. Ang-2 is a key mediator of angiogenesis and plays a significant role in the progression of chronic liver diseases towards HCC, particularly in the hypoxic microenvironment. This paper reviews the dynamic expression of Ang-2 in hepatocarcinogenesis and its regulation by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α. Furthermore, we discuss Ang-2’s potential as an early monitoring biomarker for metastasis, and the therapeutic prospects of silencing hypoxia-inducible factor-1α to downregulate Ang-2 and suppress epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HCC treatment.
Core Tip: In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) promotes tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis by upregulating angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), particularly within the hypoxic microenvironment. The synergistic interaction between HIF-1α and Ang-2 not only facilitates tumor cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition but may also contribute to multidrug resistance. Therefore, targeting the HIF-1α/Ang-2 axis holds promise as a therapeutic strategy to inhibit HCC metastasis and improve patient prognosis. Moreover, Ang-2 may serve as a potential biomarker for early HCC diagnosis and progression monitoring.
