Chemokine CXCL10 Modulates the Tumor Microenvironment of Fibrosis-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) constitutes a devastating health burden. Recently, tumor microenvironment-directed interventions have profoundly changed the landscape of HCC therapy. In the present study, the function of the chemokine CXCL10 during fibrosis-associated hepatocarcinogenesis was analyzed with specific focus on its impact in shaping the tumor microenvironment. C57BL/6J wild type (WT) and Cxcl10 knockout mice (Cxcl10^-/-) were treated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and tetrachloromethane (CCl₄) to induce fibrosis-associated HCCs. Cxcl10 deficiency attenuated hepatocarcinogenesis by decreasing tumor cell proliferation as well as tumor vascularization and modulated tumor-associated extracellular matrix composition. Furthermore, the genetic inactivation of Cxcl10 mediated an alteration of the tumor-associated immune response and modified chemokine/chemokine receptor networks. The DEN/CCl₄-treated Cxcl10^-/- mice presented with a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment and an accumulation of anti-tumoral immune cells in the tissue. The most striking alteration in the Cxcl10^-/- tumor immune microenvironment was a vast accumulation of anti-tumoral T cells in the invasive tumor margin. In summary, our results demonstrate that CXCL10 exerts a non-redundant impact on several hallmarks of the tumor microenvironment and especially modulates the infiltration of anti-tumorigenic immune cells in HCC. In the era of microenvironment-targeted HCC therapies, interfering with CXCL10 defines a novel asset for further improvement of therapeutic strategies.