Spontaneous development of hepatocellular carcinoma with cancer stem cell properties in PR-SET7 deficient livers.. Mus musculus

PR-SET7-mediated histone-4 lysine-20 methylation has been implicated in mitotic condensation, DNA damage response and replication licencing. Here we show that PR-SET7 function in the liver is pivotal for maintaining genome integrity. Hepatocyte-specific deletion of PR-SET7 in mouse embryos resulted in G2 arrest followed by massive cell death and defect in liver organogenesis. Inactivation at postnatal stages caused cell duplication-dependent hepatocyte necrosis. Necrotic death was accompanied by inflammation, fibrosis and compensatory growth induction of neighboring hepatocytes and resident ductal progenitor cells. Prolonged necrotic-regenerative cycles coupled with oncogenic STAT3 activation replaced pre-existing hepatocytes with hepatocellular carcinoma derived entirely from cells with cancer stem cell characteristics. Hepatocellular carcinoma in these mice displays a cancer stem cell gene signature specified by the co-expression of ductal progenitor markers and oncofetal genes. Overall design: Mice carrying hepatocyte specific inactivation of PR-SET7 were generated in order to investigate the function of PR-SET7 histone methyl transferase in liver organogenesis, hepatocyte proliferation and liver regeneration.