Cancers · 10 authors, 8 centres
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Analysis of RNA-seq data from HCC patients revealed elevated type I interferon signaling in tumors from African-American/Black patients. In preclinical experiments, ginger extract more strongly inhibited proliferation and interferon signaling in HCC cell lines derived from African-American/Black patients compared to cell lines from White or Asian patients.
This study investigates molecular mechanisms underlying racial disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Researchers performed RNA-seq analysis on existing TCGA data and in-house samples from 14 White and 18 African-American/Black HCC patients, identifying a statistically significant activation of the type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling pathway in African-American/Black tumors. A four-gene IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) signature showed increased expression in these tumors. To test a potential therapeutic intervention, they treated HCC cell lines—derived from White (HepG2), Asian (HuH-7), and African-American/Black (Hep3B, O/20) patients—with ginger extract (GE), a compound with anti-inflammatory properties. GE significantly reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, with African-American/Black-derived cell lines showing lower IC50 values, indicating greater sensitivity. GE also inhibited downstream mediators of IFN-I signaling and ISG expression in all cell lines. The findings suggest that dysregulated IFN-I signaling contributes to racial disparity and that dietary anti-inflammatory agents like ginger might be a complementary approach, but this remains a preclinical hypothesis requiring further validation.
