Abnormal expression of YEATS4 associates with poor prognosis and promotes cell proliferation of hepatic carcinoma cell by regulation the TCEA1/DDX3 axis.

YEATS domain containing 4 (YEATS4) is usually amplified and functions as an oncogene in several malignancies, such as colorectum, ovarian, breast and lung. However, the biological role of YEATS4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not yet been discussed. Herein, we found that YEATS4 was significantly upregulated in HCC compared to para-cancerous tissues, and was associated with poor prognosis, large tumor size, poor differentiation and distant metastasis. In addition, YEATS4 promoted HCC cell proliferation and colony formation by binding to and increasing the transcriptional activity of the TCEA1 promoter. Concurrently, upregulation of TCEA1 increased the stability of the DDX3 protein, a member of the DEAD box RNA helicase family, and augmented the proliferative and colony forming ability of HCC cells. Furthermore, YEATS4 accelerated tumor growth in a xenograft HCC model. Taken together, our study provides evidence for the first time on the potential role of the YEATS4/TCEA1/DDX3 axis in regulating HCC progression, and presents YEATS4 as a promising therapeutic target and prognosis maker for HCC.