Page 38 - Hormel Institute Annual Report 2021-22

Ningling Kang, PhD
“Liver metastasis refers to a process that cancer cells, originated from a different part of the human body, spread into the liver. Liver metastasis is a leading cause of death of cancer patients because its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood and therapeutic targets are limited.
My laboratory focuses on how liver resident cells interact with cancer cells to promote their growth in the liver. The mechanisms identified will help us develop new therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of
liver metastasis.”
Ningling Kang
38 | THE HORMEL INSTITUTE // Tumor Microenvironment and
Metastasis
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are liver resident cells. After cancer cells enter the liver, they release factors, such as TGFβ, to convert
HSCs into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs in turn promote the implantation and growth of cancer cells in the liver. One of the major focus- es in my laboratory is to understand how HSCs are converted into tumor-promoting CAFs in response to TGFβ stimulation.
The role of PD-L1 in the conversion of HSCs into liver cancer-promoting CAFs.
Immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 is expressed
by cancer cells, and its receptor PD-1 is expressed by immune cells. Binding of PD-L1 to PD-1 on immune cells leads to immune cell death, which
is a mechanism for immune escape in cancer. Our work reveals that (1) HSCs express PD-L1, and HSC PD-L1 regulates liver cancer through a mechanism