scholarly journals mTOR up-regulation of SNRPA1 contributes to hepatocellular carcinoma development

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Feng ◽  
Jian Guo ◽  
Pengyu Zhao ◽  
Jing Shen ◽  
Baofeng Chai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Human Cancer ◽  
Clinical Stage ◽  
Cyclin B1 ◽  
Ki 67 ◽  
Whole Genome Microarray ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Recent studies showed that snRNPs were implicated in human cancer development. The role of SNRPA1, which is a member of U2 snRNPs, in HCC, remains undocumented. Here, we found that SNRPA1 was highly expressed in HCC tissue compared with normal adjacent liver tissues. Up-regulation of SNRPA1 was correlated with the clinical stage of HCC and the overall survival of HCC patients. In vitro and in vivo results showed that knockdown of SNPRA1 inhibited the cell proliferation, colony formation and xenografted tumorigenesis of HCC cells. Apoptosis was induced by SNPRA1 down-regulation. Mechanistically, SNPRA1 was stimulated by mTOR activation. In addition, whole-genome microarray analysis identified that 262 genes were up-regulated and 462 genes were down-regulated by SNPRA1 knockdown in HCC cells. qPCR analysis suggested that the fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), β-catenin, Ki-67 and cyclin B1 were down-regulated and caspase 3, p53 as well as p21 were up-regulated after SNRPA1 knockdown. Taken together, our findings implicate that SNPRA1 functions as an oncogene in HCC.

Knockout of Ajuba Attenuates the Growth and Migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 160 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 650-658
Author(s):  
Yichen Le ◽  
Yi He ◽  
Meirong Bai ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Jiaxue Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Growth ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Normal Liver ◽  
Cell Growth And Migration ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Hcc Cells

Ajuba has been found to be mutated or aberrantly regulated in several human cancers and plays important roles in cancer progression via different signaling pathways. However, little is known about the role of Ajuba in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we found an upregulation of Ajuba expression in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues, while a poor prognosis was observed in HCC patients with high Ajuba expression. Knockout of Ajuba in HCC cells inhibited cell growth in vitro and in vivo, suppressed cell migration, and enhanced the cell apoptosis under stress. Moreover, re-expression of Ajuba in Ajuba-deficient cells could restore the phenotype of Ajuba-deficient cells. In conclusion, these results indicate that Ajuba is upregulated in HCC and promotes cell growth and migration of HCC cells, suggesting that Ajuba could possibly be a new target for HCC diagnosis and treatment.

scholarly journals KLF7/VPS35 axis contributes to hepatocellular carcinoma progression through CCDC85C-activated β-catenin pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarong Guo ◽  
Bao Chai ◽  
Junmei Jia ◽  
Mudan Yang ◽  
Yanjun Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Aberrant Expression ◽  
Proliferation And Invasion ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Objective Dysregulation of KLF7 participates in the development of various cancers, but it is unclear whether there is a link between HCC and aberrant expression of KLF7. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of KLF7 in proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods CCK8, colony growth, transwell, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis detection were performed to explore the effect of KLF7, VPS35 and Ccdc85c on cell function in vitro. Xenografted tumor growth was used to assess in vivo role of KLF7. Chip-qPCR and luciferase reporter assays were applied to check whether KLF7 regulated VPS35 at transcriptional manner. Co-IP assay was performed to detect the interaction between VPS35 and Ccdc85c. Immunohistochemical staining and qRT-PCR analysis were performed in human HCC sampels to study the clinical significance of KLF7, VPS35 and β-catenin. Results Firstly, KLF7 was highly expressed in human HCC samples and correlated with patients’ differentiation and metastasis status. KLF7 overexpression contributed to cell proliferation and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. KLF7 transcriptional activation of VPS35 was necessary for HCC tumor growth and metastasis. Further, co-IP studies revealed that VPS35 could interact with Ccdc85c in HCC cells. Rescue assay confirmed that overexpression of VPS35 and knockdown of Ccdc85c abolished the VPS35-medicated promotion effect on cell proliferation and invasion. Finally, KLF7/VPS35 axis regulated Ccdc85c, which involved in activation of β-catenin signaling pathway, confirmed using β-catenin inhibitor, GK974. Functional studies suggested that downregulation of Ccdc85c partly reversed the capacity of cell proliferation and invasion in HCC cells, which was regulated by VPS35 upregulation. Lastly, there was a positive correlation among KLF7, VPS35 and active-β-catenin in human HCC patients. Conclusion We demonstrated that KLF7/VPS35 axis promoted HCC cell progression by activating Ccdc85c-medicated β-catenin pathway. Targeting this signal axis might be a potential treatment strategy for HCC.

scholarly journals BAP31 Promotes Tumor Cell Proliferation by Stabilizing SERPINE2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiyang Zhang ◽  
Dongbo Jiang ◽  
Shuya Yang ◽  
Yuanjie Sun ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Colony Formation ◽  
Clinical Stage ◽  
Tumor Cell Proliferation ◽  
Ki 67 ◽  
Hcc Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients are mostly diagnosed at an advanced stage, resulting in systemic therapy and poor prognosis. Therefore, the identification of a novel treatment target for HCC is important. B-cell receptor-associated protein 31 (BAP31) has been identified as a cancer/testis antigen; however, BAP31 function and mechanism of action in HCC remain unclear. In this study, BAP31 was demonstrated to be upregulated in HCC and correlated with the clinical stage. BAP31 overexpression promoted HCC cell proliferation and colony formation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. RNA-sequence (RNA-seq) analysis demonstrated that serpin family E member 2 (SERPINE2) was downregulated in BAP31-knockdown HCC cells. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assays demonstrated that BAP31 directly binds to SERPINE2. The inhibition of SERPINE2 significantly decreased the BAP31-induced cell proliferation and colony formation of HCC cells and phosphorylation of Erk1/2 and p38. Moreover, multiplex immunohistochemistry staining of the HCC tissue microarray showed positive associations between the expression levels of BAP31, SERPINE2, its downstream gene LRP1, and a tumor proliferation marker, Ki-67. The administration of anti-BAP31 antibody significantly inhibited HCC cell xenograft tumor growth in vivo. Thus, these findings suggest that BAP31 promotes tumor cell proliferation by stabilizing SERPINE2 and can serve as a promising candidate therapeutic target for HCC.

scholarly journals Downregulation of CRABP2 Inhibit the Tumorigenesis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Vivo and In Vitro

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Qingmin Chen ◽  
Ludong Tan ◽  
Zhe Jin ◽  
Yahui Liu ◽  
Ze Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Retinoic Acid ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Tumor Stage ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Hcc Cells

Cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 2 (CRABP2) binds retinoic acid (RA) in the cytoplasm and transports it into the nucleus, allowing for the regulation of specific downstream signal pathway. Abnormal expression of CRABP2 has been detected in the development of several tumors. However, the role of CRABP2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has never been revealed. The current study aimed to investigate the role of CRABP2 in HCC and illuminate the potential molecular mechanisms. The expression of CRABP2 in HCC tissues and cell lines was detected by western blotting and immunohistochemistry assays. Our results demonstrated that the expression levels of CRABP2 in HCC tissues were elevated with the tumor stage development, and it was also elevated in HCC cell lines. To evaluate the function of CRABP2, shRNA-knockdown strategy was used in HCC cells. Cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis were analyzed by CCK-8, EdU staining, transwell, and flow cytometry assays, respectively. Based on our results, knockdown of CRABP2 by shRNA resulted in the inhibition of tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, followed by increased tumor apoptosis-related protein expression and decreased ERK/VEGF pathway-related proteins expression. CRABP2 silencing in HCC cells also resulted in the failure to develop tumors in vivo. These results provide important insights into the role of CRABP2 in the development and development of HCC. Based on our findings, CRABP2 may be used as a novel diagnostic biomarker, and regulation of CRABP2 in HCC may provide a potential molecular target for the therapy of HCC.

scholarly journals LncRNA-URHC Functions as a ceRNA to Regulate Danjb9 Expression by Competitively Binding to miR-5007-3p in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
kunwei niu ◽  
Shibin Qu ◽  
Xuan Zhang ◽  
Jimin Dai ◽  
Jianlin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Proliferation In Vitro ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often diagnosed at a late stage, when the prognosis is poor. The regulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays a crucial role in HCC. However, the precise regulatory mechanisms of lncRNA signaling in HCC remain largely unknown. We study aim to investigate the underlying mechanisms of lncRNA (upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma) URHC in HCC. Methods: RT-qPCR, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) staining, EdU, colony formation, and tumor xenografts experiments were used to identify localized and biological effects of URHC on HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. The bioinformatics analysis, Dual-luciferase reporter assay, and rescue experiments revealed the potential mechanism of URHC.Results: URHC silencing may inhibit the HCC cells proliferation in vitro and in vivo. We found that URHC was mainly localized in the cytoplasm. The expression of miR-5007-3p was negatively regulated by URHC. And miR-5007-3p could reverse the effect of URHC in HCC cells. The expression of DNAJB9 was negatively regulated by miR-5007-3p but positively regulated by URHC. These suggesting of lncRNA-URHC positively regulated the level of DNAJB9 by sponging miR-5007-3p.Conclusion: Together, our study elucidated the role of URHC as a miRNA sponge in HCC, and shed new light on lncRNA-directed diagnostics and therapeutics in HCC.

scholarly journals Nujiangexanthone A Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis via Down Regulation of Cofilin 1

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Zongtao Chai ◽  
Siyuan Kong ◽  
Jiling Feng ◽  
Man Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
Mechanism Study ◽  
Down Regulation ◽  
Free Survival ◽  
Hcc Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the malignant tumors with poor prognosis. High expression level of cofilin 1 (CFL1) has been found in many types of cancers. However, the role of CFL1 in HCC hasn’t been known clearly. Here, we found that CFL1 was up regulated in human HCC and significantly associated with both overall survival and disease-free survival in HCC patients. Nujiangexanthone A (NJXA), the caged xanthones, isolated from gamboge plants decreased the expression of CFL1, which also inhibited the migration, invasion and metastasis of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Down regulation of CFL1 inhibited aggressiveness of HCC cells, which mimicked the effect of NJXA. Mechanism study indicated that, knockdown of CFL1 or treatment with NJXA increased the level of F-actin and disturbed the balance between F-actin and G-actin. In conclusion, our findings reveal the role of CFL1 in HCC metastasis through the CFL1/F-actin axis, and suggest that CFL1 may be a potential prognostic marker and a new therapeutic target. NJXA can effectively inhibit the metastasis of HCC cells by down regulating the expression of CFL1, which indicates the potential of NJXA for preventing metastasis in HCC.

scholarly journals Chromenopyrimidinone Controls Stemness and Malignancy by suppressing CD133 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeonhwa Song ◽  
Sanghwa Kim ◽  
Hyeryon Lee ◽  
Joo Hwan No ◽  
Hyung Chul Ryu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Human Cancer ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Cd133 Expression ◽  
Control Tumor ◽  
Induced Apoptosis ◽  
Tumor Maintenance ◽  
Hcc Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly malignant human cancer that has increasing mortality rates worldwide. Because CD133+ cells control tumor maintenance and progression, compounds that target CD133+ cancer cells could be effective in combating HCC. We found that the administration of chromenopyrimidinone (CPO) significantly decreased spheroid formation and the number of CD133+ cells in mixed HCC cell populations. CPO not only significantly inhibited cell proliferation in HCC cells exhibiting different CD133 expression levels, but also effectively induced apoptosis and increased the expression of LC3-II in HCC cells. CPO also exhibits in vivo therapeutic efficiency in HCC. Specifically, CPO suppressed the expression of CD133 by altering the subcellular localization of CD133 from the membrane to lysosomes in CD133+ HCC cells. Moreover, CPO treatment induced point mutations in the ADRB1, APOB, EGR2, and UBE2C genes and inhibited the expression of these proteins in HCC and the expression of UBE2C is particularly controlled by CD133 expression among those four proteins in HCC. Our results suggested that CPO may suppress stemness and malignancies in vivo and in vitro by decreasing CD133 and UBE2C expression in CD133+ HCC. Our study provides evidence that CPO could act as a novel therapeutic agent for the effective treatment of CD133+ HCC.

scholarly journals Methyltransferase-Like 3-Mediated m6A Methylation of Hsa_circ_0058493 Accelerates Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression by Binding to YTH Domain-Containing Protein 1

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anqi Wu ◽  
Yuhao Hu ◽  
Yao Xu ◽  
Jing Xu ◽  
Xinyue Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Intracellular Localization ◽  
Rna Modification ◽  
Circular Rnas ◽  
Yth Domain ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Hcc Cells

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are highly correlated with the progression and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In addition, mounting evidence has revealed that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation, a common RNA modification, is involved in the progression of malignancies. In this research, a novel circRNA, hsa_circ_0058493, was proven to be upregulated in HCC, which was correlated with the prognosis of HCC patients. Experimentally, hsa_circ_0058493 knockdown suppressed the growth and metastasis of HCC cells in vivo and in vitro. On the contrary, the overexpression of hsa_circ_0058493 in HCC cells had the opposite effect in vitro. Mechanistic experiments revealed that hsa_circ_0058493 contained m6A methylation sites and that methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) mediated the degree of methylation modification of hsa_circ_0058493. Furthermore, YTH domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1) could bind to hsa_circ_0058493 and promote its intracellular localization from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. In addition, both si-METTL3 and si-YTHDC1 suppressed HCC cell growth and metastasis, whereas rescue experiments confirmed that overexpression of hsa_circ_0058493 inverted the inhibitory effects of si-METTL3 and si-YTHDC1 on HCC cells. Taken together, this study explored the oncogenic role of m6A-modified hsa_circ_0058493 and found to accelerate HCC progression via the METTL3-hsa_circ_0058493-YTHDC1 axis, indicating a potential therapeutic target for this deadly disease.

scholarly journals Elafin promotes tumour metastasis and attenuates the anti-metastatic effects of erlotinib via binding to EGFR in hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenwei Wang ◽  
Yadi Liao ◽  
Wei He ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Dinglan Zuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Tissue Microarrays ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Normal Tissues ◽  
Tumour Metastasis ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Background Elafin is a serine protease inhibitor critical for host defence. We previously reported that Elafin was associated with the recurrence of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgery. However, the exact role of Elafin in HCC remains obscure. Methods HCC tissue microarrays were used to investigate the correlation between Elafin expression and the prognosis of HCC patients. In vitro migration, invasion and wound healing assays and in vivo lung metastasis models were used to determine the role of Elafin in HCC metastasis. Mass spectrometry, co-immunoprecipitation, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining assays were performed to uncover the mechanism of Elafin in HCC. Dual-luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were employed to observe the transcriptional regulation of Elafin. Results Elafin expression was frequently increased in HCC tissues compared to normal tissues, and high Elafin expression in HCC tissues was correlated with aggressive tumour phenotypes and a poor prognosis in HCC patients. Elafin dramatically enhanced the metastasis of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo by interacting with EGFR and activating EGFR/AKT signalling. Moreover, Elafin attenuated the suppressive effects of erlotinib on HCC metastasis. Besides, Elafin was transcriptionally regulated by Sp1 in HCC cells. Clinically, Elafin expression was positively correlated with Sp1, Vimentin, and EGFR signalling in both our HCC tissue microarrays and TCGA database analysis. Conclusions Upregulation of Elafin by Sp1 enhanced HCC metastasis via EGFR/AKT pathway, and overexpression of Elafin attenuated the anti-metastatic effects of erlotinib, suggesting a valuable prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

scholarly journals Dioscorea Zingiberensis New Saponin Inhibits the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Suppressing the Expression of Long Non-coding RNA TCONS-00026762

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Liu ◽  
Pingsheng Zhou ◽  
Keqing He ◽  
Zhili Wen ◽  
Yong Gao
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Hcc Cells

Background: The etiology and carcinogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are associated with various risk factors. Saponins extracted from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright exhibit antitumor activity against HCC. This study aimed to investigate the effect and the underlying mechanism of Dioscorea Zingiberensis new saponin (ZnS) on HCC.Methods: Human HCC cell lines, Huh7 and SMMC-7721, were treated with different concentrations of ZnS. Cell apoptosis was determined via flow cytometry assay. Differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) in ZnS-treated SMMC-7721 cells were determined through RNA-sequence. The role of lncRNA TCONS-00026762 in HCC was investigated gain of function analysis, along with cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion in HCC cells. A subcutaneous xenograft of SMMC-7721 cell lines was established to study the effects of TCONS-00026762 in vivo. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins was detected in vivo and in vitro via western blotting.Results: ZnS inhibited the proliferation of HCC cell in a dose-dependent manner. ZnS could induce apoptosis in HCC cells. Illumina sequencing results showed that 493 DElncRNAs were identified in ZnS-treated SMMC-7721 cells. TCONS-00026762 expression was down-regulated in the ZnS-treated SMMC-7721 cells. TCONS-00026762 inhibited the effect of ZnS on the proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion of HCC cells. ZnS inhibited the tumor growth, while, TCONS-00026762 promoted tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, ZnS and TCONS-00026762 regulated cell apoptotic pathways.Conclusion: ZnS significantly inhibits the viability, apoptosis, invasion, and tumorigenicity of HCC cells by regulating the expression of TCONS-00026,762. Our findings provide novel insights into the potential role of lncRNA in HCC therapy.

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