Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Proliferation and Migration by Regulating Immune Cell Infiltration.

OBJECTIVES

Recent evidence suggests that promotes carcinogenesis and tumor progression in multiple types of cancers. This study investigates the role of in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

The differentially expressed gene was screened through GEO and TCGA databases. The gene was identified and its expression was then verified by TCGA and HCCDB (a database of hepatocellular carcinoma expression atlas) databases. The Human Protein Atlas database was used to assess the gene expression in tissues. The TCGA and KM-plotter databases were used to study the relationship between and HCC. The correlation between and immune cells was evaluated through the TIMER database. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis was used to investigate the possible mechanism. The role of in cell proliferation and invasion of HCC was further explored through in vitro experiments.

RESULT

The differentially expressed molecule obtained from database screening was . Its expression was higher in cancer tissues than in paracancerous ones, and it was mainly located in the cytoplasm. The TCGA, KM-plotter databases, and our study data showed that low expression in HCC patients had better overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFI), and disease-specific survival (DSS). Further analysis indicated a significant correlation between expression and immune cell infiltration. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis showed that affected the biological events of HCC by participating in the WNT, TGF-BETA, JAK, STAT, and CALCIUM signaling pathways. In vitro, cytological experiments demonstrated reduced expression of PCNA, Ki-67, Vimentin, N-cadherin, and MMP-9 mRNA after knocking down , although E-cadherin expression was promoted. Overall, these processes reduced the ability of proliferation and invasion of HCC cells.

CONCLUSION

Downregulation of can prolong the OS, PFI, and DSS of HCC patients. Furthermore, due to its link with immune cell infiltration, the gene represents a potentially novel predictive biomarker of HCC. The growth of HCC can be significantly inhibited by interfering with ; therefore, these results provide a potential target for developing anticancer strategies for HCC.