Role of TGF-β and Smad7 in apoptosis of HCC cells

TGF-β plays a pivotal role in cell signaling in liver. In healthy tissue and early stages of liver diesease, TGF-β signaling controls apoptosis, cell proliferation and differentiation, thereby acting as a tumor suppressor. During tumor progression in hepatocellular carcinogenesis TGF-β acquires tumor promoting functions. For urgently needed treatment development it is essential to elucidate the point of decision, when TGF-β turns from a tumor suppressor into a tumor promoter. In this respect, we focused on apoptosis of HCC cells with special attention on Smad7, an endogenous inhibitor of TGF-β signaling. We anal…