α-enolase is highly expressed in liver cancer and promotes cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

The expression levels of α-enolase, also known as enolase 1 (ENO1), in liver cancer tissues and the autoantibody levels of ENO1 in the sera of patients with liver cancer were detected to investigate the function of ENO1 in the invasion and metastasis of liver cancer, as well as its clinical diagnostic value. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to disrupt ENO1 gene expression in HepG2 and Huh7 liver cancer cells. The proliferation ability of liver cancer cells was assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8); the migration ability of liver cancer cells was assessed using scratch tests; and the migration and invasion abilities of liver cancer cells were assessed using Transwell assays. ENO1 expression in liver cancer tissues (43.8%) was significantly higher than that in benign liver lesions (15.2%) (P=0.005). The serum anti-ENO1 antibody levels in the liver cancer group were significantly higher than those in the control and benign liver lesion groups (P<0.001). After ENO1 gene interference, the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of HepG2 and Huh7 liver cancer cells exhibited different degrees of suppression. The results revealed that ENO1 promotes liver cancer invasion and metastasis; ENO1 plays an important role in liver cancer and can be used as a potential liver cancer-associated marker.