Junnan Ru, Jiahua Lu, Jiangzhen Ge, Bo Ding, Rong Su, Yifan Jiang, Yujing Sun, Jun Ma, Yu Li, Jingqi Sun, Guangming Xu, Rongliang Tong, Shusen Zheng, Beng Yang, Jian Wu
Immunity-related GTPase M (IRGM), an Interferon-inducible protein, functions as a pivotal immunoregulator in multiple autoimmune diseases and infection. However, the role of IRGM in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development remains unveiled. Here, we found interferon-γ (IFN-γ) treatment in HCC drastically triggered the expression of IRGM, and the high level of IRGM indicated poor prognosis in HCC patients. Functionally, IRGM promoted the malignant progression of HCC. Single-cell sequencing revealed that IRGM inhibition promoted the infiltration of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) with significant downregulation of PD-L1 expression in HCC...
November 20, 2023: Cancer Letters