scholarly journals CHPF Regulates the Aggressive Phenotypes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via the Modulation of the Decorin and TGF-β Pathways

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1261
Author(s):  
Chiung-Hui Liu ◽  
Bo-Rui Wu ◽  
Ying-Jui Ho ◽  
Yin-Hung Chu ◽  
Wei-Cheng Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Poor Overall Survival ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Hcc Cells ◽  
Potent Tumor

Aberrant composition of glycans in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and abnormal expression of extracellular matrix proteins are hallmarks of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the mechanisms responsible for establishing the TME remain unclear. We demonstrate that the chondroitin polymerizing factor (CHPF), an enzyme that mediates the elongation of chondroitin sulfate (CS), is a critical elicitor of the malignant characteristics of HCC as it modifies the potent tumor suppressor, decorin (DCN). CHPF expression is frequently downregulated in HCC tumors, which is associated with the poor overall survival of HCC patients. We observed that restoring CHPF expression suppressed HCC cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations revealed that TGF-β signaling is associated with CHPF-induced phenotype changes. We found that DCN, as a TGF-β regulator, is modified by CHPF, and that it affects the distribution of DCN on the surface of HCC cells. Importantly, our results confirm that CHPF and DCN expression levels are positively correlated in primary HCC tissues. Taken together, our results suggest that CHPF dysregulation contributes to the malignancy of HCC cells, and our study provides novel insights into the significance of CS, which affects DCN expression in the TME.

scholarly journals SRSF1 promotes the inclusion of exon 3 of SRA1 and the invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by interacting with exon 3 of SRA1pre-mRNA

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sijia Lei ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Luyuan Huang ◽  
Ziyou Zheng ◽  
Shaohan Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Tumor Invasion ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Regulated Expression ◽  
Rna Immunoprecipitation ◽  
Hcc Cells

AbstractSteroid receptor RNA activator 1 (SRA1) has been described as a novel transcriptional co-activator that affects the migration of cancer cells. Through RT-PCR, we identified that skipping exon 3 of SRA1 produces two isoforms, including the truncated short isoform, SRA1-S, and the long isoform, SRA1-L. However, the effect of these two isomers on the migration of HCC cells, as well as the specific mechanism of exon 3 skipping remain unclear. In this study, we found up regulated expression of SRSF1 and SRA1-L in highly metastatic HCCLM3, as well as in HCCs with SRSF1 demonstrating the strongest correlation with SRA1-L. In contrast, we observed a constitutively low expression of SRA1-S and SRSF1 in lowly metastatic HepG2 cells. Overexpression of SRSF1 or SRA1-L promoted migration and invasion by increasing the expression of CD44, while SRA1-S reversed the effect of SRSF1 and SRA1-L in vitro. In addition, lung metastasis in mice revealed that, knockdown of SRSF1 or SRA1-L inhibited the migration of HCC cells, while SRA1-L overexpression abolished the effect of SRSF1 knockout and instead promoted HCC cells migration in vivo. More importantly, RNA immunoprecipitation and Cross-link immunoprecipitation analyses showed that SRSF1 interacts with exon 3 of SRA1 to up regulate the expression of SRA1-L in HCC cells. RNA pull-down results indicated that SRSF1 could also bind to exon 3 of SRA1 in vitro. Finally, minigene -MS2 mutation experiments showed that mutation of the SRA1 exon 3 binding site for SRSF1 prevented the binding of SRA1 pre-mRNA. In summary, our results provide experimental evidence that SRA1 exon 3 inclusion is up regulated by SRSF1 to promote tumor invasion and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

scholarly journals microRNA-1915-3p Promotes Cell Metastasis and Progression by Targeting Bcl2L11 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjie Huang ◽  
Sufen Li ◽  
Xianhua Chen ◽  
Lin Sun ◽  
Gangxi Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Poor Overall Survival ◽  
Cellular Models ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that miR-1915-3p plays vital regulatory roles in metastasis and progression of several types of cancer. However, the roles and underlying mechanism of miR-1915-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely unclear. MethodsWe carried out a bioinformatic meta-analysis to investigate a possible role of miR-1915-3p as prognostic biomarkers. In vitro cellular models of HCC were used for functional studies exploring the role of miR-1915-3p in HCC development and progression. Finally, in vivo studies were performed to demonstrate that miR-1915-3p is a viable therapeutic target.ResultsThis study showed that miR-1915-3p was significantly increased in HCC tissue samples and cell lines, and high miR-1915-3p expression was associated with a poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) time of HCC patients. Overexpression or ablation of miR-1915-3p expression resulted in accelerated or inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion respectively in HCC cells. In addition, miR-1915-3p induced downregulation of proapoptotic factors, including caspase3, caspase8, BAD, Bcl2L11, and P53. It also induced upregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2, protecting HCC cells from apoptosis. A biological analysis indicated that miR-1915-3p could be directly targeted to Bcl2L11 to regulate the proliferation, invasion, and migration of HCC cells. Furthermore, in vivo studies confirmed that treatment with miR-1915-3p retarded the growth of tumor in nude mice. Conclusionour study provided the evidence for the regulatory role of miR-1915-3p in HCC, which was causally linked to targeting of Bcl2L11. Medications that abrogate excessively expressed miR-1915-3p may offer novel targets for the management of HCC.

scholarly journals MicroRNA-1915-3p Promotes Cell Metastasis and Progression by Targeting Bcl2L11 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjie Huang ◽  
Sufen Li ◽  
Xianhua Chen ◽  
Lin Sun ◽  
Gangxi Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Poor Overall Survival ◽  
Cellular Models ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Background: Increasing evidence suggests that miR-1915-3p plays vital regulatory roles in metastasis and progression of several types of cancer. However, the roles and underlying mechanism of miR-1915-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely unclear. Methods: We carried out a bioinformatic meta-analysis to investigate a possible role of miR-1915-3p as prognostic biomarkers. In vitro cellular models of HCC were used for functional studies exploring the role of miR-1915-3p in HCC development and progression. Finally, in vivo studies were performed to demonstrate that miR-1915-3p is a viable therapeutic target.Results: This study showed that miR-1915-3p was significantly increased in HCC tissue samples and cell lines, and high miR-1915-3p expression was associated with a poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) time of HCC patients. Overexpression or ablation of miR-1915-3p expression resulted in accelerated or inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion respectively in HCC cells. In addition, miR-1915-3p induced downregulation of proapoptotic factors, including caspase3, caspase8, BAD, Bcl2L11, and P53. It also induced upregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2, protecting HCC cells from apoptosis. A biological analysis indicated that miR-1915-3p could be directly targeted to Bcl2L11 to regulate the proliferation, invasion, and migration of HCC cells. Furthermore, in vivo studies confirmed that treatment with miR-1915-3p retarded the growth of tumor in nude mice. Conclusion: our study provided the evidence for the regulatory role of miR-1915-3p in HCC, which was causally linked to targeting of Bcl2L11. Medications that abrogate excessively expressed miR-1915-3p may offer novel targets for the management of HCC.

scholarly journals Long non-coding RNA TUG1 promotes cell progression in hepatocellular carcinoma via regulating miR-216b-5p/DLX2 axis

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qun Dai ◽  
Jingyi Deng ◽  
Jinrong Zhou ◽  
Zhuhong Wang ◽  
Xiao-feng Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Noncoding Rna ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Marked Rise ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Background Accumulating evidence indicates that the long noncoding RNA taurine upregulated gene 1(TUG1) plays a critical role in cancer progression and metastasis. However, the overall biological role and clinical significance of TUG1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown. Methods The expressions of TUG1, microRNA-216b-5p and distal-less homeobox 2 (DLX2) were detected by Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The target relationships were predicted by StarBase v.2.0 or TargetScan and confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The cell growth, apoptosis, migration and invasion were detected by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), Flow cytometry and Transwell assays, respectively. All protein expression levels were detected by western blot. Tumor xenografts were implemented to explore the role of TUG1 in vivo. Results We found that there was a marked rise in TUG1 expression in HCC tissues and cells, and knockdown of TUG1 repressed the growth and metastasis and promoted apoptosis of HCC cells. In particular, TUG1 could act as a ceRNA, effectively becoming a sink for miR-216b-5p to fortify the expression of DLX2. Additionally, repression of TUG1 impared the progression of HCC cells by inhibiting DLX2 expression via sponging miR-216b-5p in vitro. More importantly, TUG1 knockdown inhibited HCC tumor growth in vivo through upregulating miR-216b-5p via inactivation of the DLX2. Conclusion TUG1 interacting with miR-216b-5p contributed to proliferation, metastasis, tumorigenesis and retarded apoptosis by activation of DLX2 in HCC.

scholarly journals Primary Cilia Blockage Promotes the Malignant Behaviors of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Induction of Autophagy

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Lian Liu ◽  
Jia-Qi Sheng ◽  
Mu-Ru Wang ◽  
Yun Gan ◽  
Xiao-Li Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Primary Cilia ◽  
The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Serum Starvation ◽  
Autophagic Flux ◽  
And Function ◽  
Hcc Cells

Primary cilia are organelles protruding from cell surface into environment that function in regulating cell cycle and modulating cilia-related signal. Primary ciliogenesis and autophagy play important roles in tumorigenesis. However, the functions and interactions between primary cilia and autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been reported yet. Here, we aimed to investigate the relationship and function of primary cilia and autophagy in HCC. In vitro, we showed that serum starvation stimuli could trigger primary ciliogenesis in HCC cells. Blockage of primary ciliogenesis by IFT88 silencing enhanced the proliferation, migration, and invasion ability of HCC cells. In addition, inhibition of primary cilia could positively regulate autophagy. However, the proliferation, migration, and invasion ability which were promoted by IFT88 silencing could be partly reversed by inhibition of autophagy. In vivo, interference of primary cilia led to acceleration of tumor growth and increase of autophagic flux in xenograft HCC mouse models. Moreover, IFT88 high expression or ATG7 low expression in HCC tissues was correlated with longer survival time indicated by the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) analysis. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that blockage of primary ciliogenesis by IFT88 silencing had protumor effects through induction of autophagy in HCC. These findings define a newly recognized role of primary cilia and autophagy in 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 Kruppel-like factor 6 suppresses growth and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 666-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Hao Wen ◽  
Dong-Yu Wang ◽  
Jia-Kai Zhang ◽  
Zhi-Hui Wang ◽  
Jie Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Tumor Model ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Tumor Suppressive Function ◽  
Xenograft Tumor Growth ◽  
Hcc Cells

Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) as a novel tumor suppressive gene participates in multiple biological behaviors and plays an important role in regulating tumor cell growth and invasion. However, the functions of KLF6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain poorly understood. The expression level of KLF6 was examined by immunohistochemical assay in human HCC tissues, and KLF6-overexpressed HCC cells (SMCC-7721 and HepG2) were used for evaluating cell proliferation and invasion by MTT and Transwell assays. A subcutaneous HCC tumor model was established for assessing tumor growth in vivo. Our results showed that the expression of KLF6 was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues compared with the adjacent non-cancerous tissues (50.0% vs. 72.0%, P = 0.034) and negatively associated with the lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) in HCC patients ( P = 0.003). Furthermore, overexpression of KLF6 reduced cell proliferation and weakened the cell invasive potential followed with the decreased expression of PCNA and MMP-9 in HCC cells. The in vivo experiment indicated that KLF6 overexpression suppressed the xenograft tumor growth. Therefore, our findings show that KLF6 suppresses growth and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting a tumor suppressive function in HCC and provides the potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.

scholarly journals LpCat1 Promotes Malignant Transformation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Directly Suppressing STAT1

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weidan Ji ◽  
Zhangxiao Peng ◽  
Bin Sun ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Qin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Clinical Gene Therapy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Hcc Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant cancer with rapid proliferation and high metastasis ability. To explore the crucial genes that maintain the aggressive behaviors of cancer cells is very important for clinical gene therapy of HCC. LpCat1 was reported to be highly expressed and exert pro-tumorigenic effect in a variety of cancers, including HCC. However, its detailed molecular mechanism remained unclear. In this study, we confirmed that LpCat1 was up-regulated in HCC tissues and cancer cell lines. The overexpressed LpCat1 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells, and accelerated cell cycle progression, while knocking down LpCat1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo, and arrested HCC cells at G0/G1 phase. Moreover, we proved for the first time that LpCat1 directly interacted with STAT1 which was generally recognized as a tumor suppressor in HCC. High levels of LpCat1 in HCC could inhibit STAT1 expression, up-regulate CyclinD1, CyclinE, CDK4 and MMP-9, and decrease p27kip1 to promote cancer progression. Conversely, down-regulation of LpCat1 would cause the opposite changes to repress the viability and motility of HCC cells. Consequently, we concluded that LpCat1 was a contributor to progression and metastasis of HCC by interacting with STAT1.

scholarly journals AXL Knock-Out in SNU475 Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Provides Evidence for Lethal Effect Associated with G2 Arrest and Polyploidization

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (24) ◽  
pp. 13247
Author(s):  
Tugce Batur ◽  
Ayse Argundogan ◽  
Umur Keles ◽  
Zeynep Mutlu ◽  
Hani Alotaibi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
G2 Arrest ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Acquired Drug Resistance ◽  
Phenotypic Changes ◽  
Hcc Cells

AXL, a member of the TAM family, is a promising therapeutic target due to its elevated expression in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly in association with acquired drug resistance. Previously, RNA interference was used to study its role in cancer, and several phenotypic changes, including attenuated cell proliferation and decreased migration and invasion, have been reported. The mechanism of action of AXL in HCC is elusive. We first studied the AXL expression in HCC cell lines by real-time PCR and western blot and showed its stringent association with a mesenchymal phenotype. We then explored the role of AXL in mesenchymal SNU475 cells by CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene knock-out. AXL-depleted HCC cells displayed drastic phenotypic changes, including increased DNA damage response, prolongation of doubling time, G2 arrest, and polyploidization in vitro and loss of tumorigenicity in vivo. Pharmacological inhibition of AXL by R428 recapitulated G2 arrest and polyploidy phenotype. These observations strongly suggest that acute loss of AXL in some mesenchymal HCC cells is lethal and points out that its inhibition may represent a druggable vulnerability in AXL-high HCC patients.

scholarly journals LncRNA ZFPM2-AS1 Promotes Metastasis and Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Targeting miR-3612/ADAM15 Axis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Yang ◽  
Tianxiang Chen ◽  
Bowen Yao ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Runkun Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Luciferase Reporter Assay ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Reporter Assay ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have obtained growing attention due to their potential effects as novel regulators in various tumors. This study aimed to investigate the expression and roles of lncRNA ZFPM2-AS1 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Transwell was used to determine migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. The lung metastasis mouse model was established to detect tumor metastasis of HCC in vivo. The direct binding of miR-3612 to 3'UTR of DAM15 was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. The expression of ZFPM2-AS1 and miR-3612 in HCC specimens and cell lines were detected by real-time PCR. The correlation among ZFPM2-AS1 and miR-3612 were disclosed by a dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay and biotin pull-down assay.Results: In present study, we found that ZFPM2-AS1 was up-regulated in HCC tissues and cells and its upregulation was associated with TNM stage, vascular invasion, and poor prognosis of HCC patients. Functionally, gain- and loss-of-function experiments indicated that ZFPM2-AS1 promoted cell migration, invasion and EMT progress in vitro and in vivo. ZFPM2-AS1 could function as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR-3612 in HCC cells. Mechanically, miR-3612 inhibited HCC metastasis and alternation of miR-3612 reversed the promotive effects of ZFPM2-AS1 on HCC cells. In addition, we confirmed that ADAM15 was a direct target of miR-3612 in HCC and mediated the biological effects of miR-3612 and ZFPM2-AS1 in HCC. Curcumin, an active derivative from turmeric, exerts its anticancer effects through ZFPM2-AS1/miR-3612/ADAM15 pathway. Our data identified ZFPM2-AS1 as a novel oncogenic lncRNA and correlated malignant clinical outcomes in HCC patients. Conclusions: ZFPM2-AS1 performed as oncogenic role via targeting miR-3612 and subsequently promoted ADAM15 expression in HCC. Our results revealed that ZFPM2-AS1 could be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

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