The testis-specific protein Y-linked (TSPY) is a male-specific cancer-testis antigen specifically expressed in germ cells of the testis under normal conditions and various cancers, particularly in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), under oncogenic conditions. It binds to cyclin B and exacerbates the cyclin B-CDK1 phosphorylation of factors important for mitotic/meiotic divisions. To determine if such TSPY proliferative actions could contribute to various male-biases in liver cancer, TSPY transgene was expressed in an oncogene-induced preclinical mouse model of HCC, using the hydrodynamic tail vein injection strategy. The results showed that TSPY expression suppressed tumor cell growth at early stage but could evolve to resume oncogenic progression at late stage in this mouse model. Transcriptome and bioinformatic analyses demonstrated that significant immune and inflammatory responses were activated in early stage of the cancer, resulting in elimination of positive tumor cells. Significant...