Contribution of the toxic advanced glycation end-products-receptor axis in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 3 Proposed model for the contribution of the toxic advanced glycation end-products-receptor axis in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related hepatocellular carcinoma. The interaction between TAGE and RAGE alters intracellular signaling in tumor cells and hepatic stellate cells, and induces angiogenesis, invasion, migration, proliferation, and fibrosis. This cooperation by the TAGE-RAGE axis may lead to the malignant progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). CML and sRAGE inversely correlate with the risk of HCC, and sRAGE, which plays the role of a decoy receptor of RAGE, prevents the malignant progression of HCC. The TAGE-RAGE axis may become a treatment target in NASH and NASH-related HCC. CML: Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine; ECs: Endothelial cells; EMT: Epithelial mesenchymal transition; HSCs: Hepatic stellate cells; MCP-1: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; RAGE: Receptor for advanced glycation end-products; sRAGE: Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end; TAGE: Toxic advanced glycation end-products; TGF-β1: Transforming growth factor-β1; VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor.