This Key Event Relationship is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-SA license. This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.

Relationship: 343

Title

A descriptive phrase which clearly defines the two KEs being considered and the sequential relationship between them (i.e., which is upstream, and which is downstream). More help

Increased, Proliferation/Clonal Expansion of Mutant Cells (Pre-Neoplastic Lesions/Altered H leads to Tumorigenesis, Hepatocellular carcinoma

Upstream event

The causing Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help

Increased, Proliferation/Clonal Expansion of Mutant Cells (Pre-Neoplastic Lesions/Altered H

Downstream event

The responding Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help

Tumorigenesis, Hepatocellular carcinoma

Key Event Relationship Overview

The utility of AOPs for regulatory application is defined, to a large extent, by the confidence and precision with which they facilitate extrapolation of data measured at low levels of biological organisation to predicted outcomes at higher levels of organisation and the extent to which they can link biological effect measurements to their specific causes.Within the AOP framework, the predictive relationships that facilitate extrapolation are represented by the KERs. Consequently, the overall WoE for an AOP is a reflection in part, of the level of confidence in the underlying series of KERs it encompasses. Therefore, describing the KERs in an AOP involves assembling and organising the types of information and evidence that defines the scientific basis for inferring the probable change in, or state of, a downstream KE from the known or measured state of an upstream KE. More help

AOPs Referencing Relationship

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) that help to define the biological applicability domain of the KER.In general, this will be dictated by the more restrictive of the two KEs being linked together by the KER. More help

Sex Applicability

An indication of the the relevant sex for this KER. More help

Life Stage Applicability

An indication of the the relevant life stage(s) for this KER. More help

Key Event Relationship Description

Provides a concise overview of the information given below as well as addressing details that aren’t inherent in the description of the KEs themselves. More help

While there is no direct evidence addressing how AFB1 exposure affects cellular proliferation and the clonal expansion of mutant cells to ultimately form HCC, there are multiple biological processes that are generally involved in tumor development. These are discussed in a previous section and include effects on apoptosis, inflammation, the development of a tumor microenvironment, interference with the anti-oxidant response, and likely others.

Evidence Collection Strategy

Include a description of the approach for identification and assembly of the evidence base for the KER. For evidence identification, include, for example, a description of the sources and dates of information consulted including expert knowledge, databases searched and associated search terms/strings. Include also a description of study screening criteria and methodology, study quality assessment considerations, the data extraction strategy and links to any repositories/databases of relevant references.Tabular summaries and links to relevant supporting documentation are encouraged, wherever possible. More help

Evidence Map 2.0

ID	Experimental Design	Species	Upstream Observation	Downstream Observation	Citation (first author, year)	Notes

Evidence Map

Addresses the scientific evidence supporting KERs in an AOP setting the stage for overall assessment of the AOP. More help

Title	First Author	Biological Plausibility	Dose Concordance	Temporal Concordance	Incidence Concordance

Biological Plausibility

Dose Concordance Evidence

Temporal Concordance Evidence

Incidence Concordance Evidence

Uncertainties and Inconsistencies

Addresses inconsistencies or uncertainties in the relationship including the identification of experimental details that may explain apparent deviations from the expected patterns of concordance. More help

A seemingly strong relationship exists between AHF and tumors; AHF have been considered as pre-neoplastic lesions for a number of years (Bannasch et al., 1986; Ikeda et al., 2004; Ribback et al., 2013).

Known modulating factors

This table captures specific information on the MF, its properties, how it affects the KER and respective references.1.) What is the modulating factor? Name the factor for which solid evidence exists that it influences this KER. Examples: age, sex, genotype, diet 2.) Details of this modulating factor. Specify which features of this MF are relevant for this KER. Examples: a specific age range or a specific biological age (defined by...); a specific gene mutation or variant, a specific nutrient (deficit or surplus); a sex-specific homone; a certain threshold value (e.g. serum levels of a chemical above...) 3.) Description of how this modulating factor affects this KER. Describe the provable modification of the KER (also quantitatively, if known). Examples: increase or decrease of the magnitude of effect (by a factor of...); change of the time-course of the effect (onset delay by...); alteration of the probability of the effect; increase or decrease of the sensitivity of the downstream effect (by a factor of...) 4.) Provision of supporting scientific evidence for an effect of this MF on this KER. Give a list of references. More help

Quantitative Understanding of the Linkage

Captures information that helps to define how much change in the upstream KE, and/or for how long, is needed to elicit a detectable and defined change in the downstream KE. More help

One might obtain a quantitative understanding of this linkage from studies with AFB1 that reported both AHF in terms of volume fraction of the liver and HCC tumor incidence. However, no such data were identified. Most initiation-promotion studies used a highly artificial system with chemical initiation with an alkylating agent and promotion with phenobarbital, TCDD, or some other compound, coupled with partial hepatectomy to further stimulate rapid cell proliferation (Xu et al., 1990a, 1990b). Chemoprotection studies such as Johnson et al. (2014) indicate that a strong relationship likely exists between AHF and tumors, but insufficient data exist for quantification or definitive dose-response determination.

Response-response Relationship

Provides sources of data that define the response-response relationships between the KEs. More help

Time-scale

Information regarding the approximate time-scale of the changes in KEdownstream relative to changes in KEupstream (i.e., do effects on KEdownstream lag those on KEupstream by seconds, minutes, hours, or days?). More help

Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER

Define whether there are known positive or negative feedback mechanisms involved and what is understood about their time-course and homeostatic limits. More help

Domain of Applicability

A free-text section of the KER description that the developers can use to explain their rationale for the taxonomic, life stage, or sex applicability structured terms. More help

AHF have been observed essentially universally in AFB1-treated mammals, birds, and fish examined (Pottenger et al., 2014; Kensler et al., 2011; Kimura et al., 2004; Cullen et al., 1900; Kirby et al., 1990).