Physical injury factors promoting liver tumor growth: an animal experimental study

Objective To study the effect of physical injury factors on the growth of liver tumor in mice without immunomodulatory factors. Methods Two types of liver tumor models were established with severe immunodeficiency NCG mice as modeling objects. Model 1: Human hepatocarcinoma cells SMMC-7721-RFP-Luc2 were injected into the spleen to establish an animal model of liver metastasis, in which the left lateral lobe of the liver was physically damaged in the experimental group (n=7) and the control group (n=6) was not damaged; model 2: Human hepatocarcinoma cells SMMC-7721-RFP-Luc2 were subcutaneously inoculated, and the tumor tissues were taken after tumorigenesis, and then transplanted with tissue mass. An orthotopic liver transplantation model was established in mice with left lateral lobe of liver. The experimental group (n=7) physically damaged the left lateral lobe of liver, while the control group (n=6) did not. Results Liver imaging was performed on the 11th day after splenic injection of liver metastasis in mice. The tumor formation rate was 100% (7/7) in physical injury group, 60% (3/5) in control group. Compared with control group, the difference was significant(P<0.05). On the 7th day of orthotopic liver transplantation, the tumor formation rate was 100% (5/5) in the physical injury group, 66.7% (4/6) in the control group. Compared with control group, the difference was significant(P<0.05). On the 14th day of orthotopic liver transplantation, the tumor formation rate was 100% (5/5) in physical injury group, 83.3% (5/6) in control group. Compared with control group, the difference was significant(P<0.05). Conclusion Physical injury factors can significantly promote the growth of liver tumor in mice without immunomodulatory factors. Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Early physical injury; Animal models; In vivo imaging system