MOAP-1 deficiency results in heightened p62 bodies, hyperactivation of Nrf2 and elevated tumor burden in the DEN-mediated mouse liver cancer model.Figure 8A High level of p62 bodies in the liver of the MOAP-1 KO mice subjected to acute diethylnitrosamine (DEN) treatment. Eight-week-old male WT and MOAP-1 KO mice were injected with an acute dose of DEN (100 µg/g body weight). Mice were sacrificed at 48 hours post-injection. Livers were harvested for immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis with anti-p62 antibody (in red). Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (in blue). Insets in the upper panels are enlarged in the lower panels. Scale bar: 20 µm. B Loss of MOAP-1 results in higher levels of Nrf2 and its downstream target protein, HMOX-1, in liver upon acute DEN treatment. Lysates of the livers harvested from mice subjected to acute DEN treatment as described in (A) were prepared in RIPA lysis buffer containing 1% SDS and analyzed by Western blotting. Actin as loading control. C MOAP-1 deficiency elevates levels of p62 protein in the detergent-insoluble fractions of the liver lysates from mice subjected to acute DEN treatment. Livers from mice injected as described in (A) were lysed in 1% Triton-X lysis buffer, separated into detergent-soluble (S) and insoluble (I) fractions and analyzed by Western blotting. D High levels of p62 bodies detected in the tumors of the MOAP-1 KO mice. Tumor sections from livers dissected from the 8.5-month-old male WT and MOAP-1 KO mice injected with a single dose of DEN (25 µg/g body weight) at 15-day-old were subjected to IHC analysis with anti-p62 antibody (in red). Nuclear were stained with DAPI (in blue). Insets were enlarged in the bottom right. Scale bar: 20 µm.F Increased levels of Nrf2 and its downstream target protein, HMOX-1, in the MOAP-1 deficient tumors. While p62 protein is upregulated in the tumors compared to the adjacent non-tumor tissues in both WT and MOAP-1 KO livers, no significant difference is observed in the p62 protein levels between the WT and MOAP-1 KO tumors. Lysates of the tumors and non-tumor parts of the livers from mice injected with DEN as described in (D) were prepared in RIPA lysis buffer containing 1% SDS and subjected to Western blotting. Actin as loading control. P, PBS injected control; N, non-tumor; T, tumor. G Upregulation of mRNA levels of HMOX-1 and NQO1 in the MOAP-1 deficient tumors. Livers harvested from the mice injected with PBS or DEN as described in (D) were subjected to RT-PCR analysis. n = 3 WT and 3 MOAP-1 KO mice injected with the PBS control, and 8 WT and 9 MOAP-1 KO mice injected with DEN. Error bar represents S.E.M. **P<0.01, student's t-test. H MOAP-1 deficient mice bear higher tumor burden in the DEN-mediated liver cancer model. Representative images of liver tumors dissected from the 8.5-month-old male WT and MOAP-1 KO mice injected with a single dose of DEN (25 µg/g body weight) at 15-day-old. Scale bar: 5 mm.MOAP-1 deficiency promotes tumor initiation. Frequency of mice with macroscopic tumor nodules of the 4.5-month-old WT and MOAP-1 KO mice (n=18 and 23 respectively) injected with a single dose of DEN (25 µg/g body weight) at 15-day-old. MOAP-1 deficiency promotes tumor initiation. measurements of the number, diameter of the largest nodules and total liver weight of the 4.5-month-old WT and MOAP-1 KO mice (n=18 and 23 respectively) injected with a single dose of DEN (25 µg/g body weight) at 15-day-old.