Fig. 1: Loss of Lifr promotes liver cancer.
From: A targetable LIFR−NF-κB−LCN2 axis controls liver tumorigenesis and vulnerability to ferroptosis
a, b Unpaired (a, n = 50 patients for normal livers; n = 374 patients for liver tumors) and paired (b, n = 50 patients) comparison of LIFR mRNA levels, based on TCGA data. The dashed and dotted lines in a are the medians and the quartiles, respectively. Statistical significance was determined by a two-tailed unpaired (a) or paired (b) t-test. c qPCR of LIFR in human liver tumors (n = 37). Statistical significance was determined by a two-tailed unpaired t-test. d Immunoblotting of Lifr and Gapdh in liver tumors (T) and adjacent normal tissues (N) from DEN-treated C57BL/6 mice. e, f qPCR (e) and immunoblotting (f) of Lifr in livers of 3-month-old Lifrfl/fl and Lifrfl/fl;Alb-Cre mice. n = 3 samples per mouse; n = 3 mice per group. g Images of livers in 2-year-old Lifrfl/fl and Lifrfl/fl;Alb-Cre mice. Arrows indicate macroscopic tumors. h Images and H&E staining of livers in DEN-treated 7-month-old Lifrfl/fl and Lifrfl/fl;Alb-Cre mice. Scale bars, 100 μm. i Kaplan−Meier curves of overall survival of DEN-treated Lifrfl/fl (n = 14) and Lifrfl/fl;Alb-Cre (n = 8) mice. Statistical significance was determined by a log-rank test. j, k Images (j) and H&E staining (k) of livers from Lifrfl/fl and Lifrfl/fl;Alb-Cre mice, 29 days after hydrodynamic injection of plasmids expressing the Sleeping Beauty transposase, β-catenin, and YAP. Scale bars, 300 μm. l, m Liver weight (l) and liver-to-body weight ratio (m) of the mice described in j. n = 7 mice. n Gross images and H&E staining of livers from Lifrfl/fl and Lifrfl/fl;Cre-ERT2 mice, 28 days after hydrodynamic injection of plasmids expressing the Sleeping Beauty transposase, myrAKT, and RasV12. From day 7, all mice received 5-day tamoxifen treatment. Scale bars, 300 μm. o–q Number of liver nodules (n = 7 mice; o), liver weight (n = 6 mice; p), and liver-to-body weight ratio (n = 6 mice; q) of the mice described in n. Statistical significance in l, m, and o−q was determined by a two-tailed unpaired t-test. Error bars are s.e.m. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
