Effect and mechanism of mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease 1 on the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells
10.3760/cma.j.cn311367-20231210-00204
- VernacularTitle:甘露糖结合凝集素相关丝氨酸蛋白酶1对肝癌细胞增殖和迁移的作用及机制研究
- Author:
Qiqi REN
1
;
Wei HUANG
;
Tao MA
;
Cuihua LU
Author Information
1. 南通大学附属医院消化内科，南通 226001
- Keywords:
Hepatocellular carcinoma;
Mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease 1;
Proliferation;
Migration
- From:
Chinese Journal of Digestion
2024;44(6):398-405
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the effect and possible molecular mechanism of mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease (MASP) 1 on the biological behavior of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) cells.Methods:From January 10 to October 25, 2022, 20 pairs of fresh liver cancer tissue and adjacent (3 cm from cancer tissue) normal tissue samples of patients who underwent hepatic cancer resection at the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University were collected, and the expression of MASP1 was analyzed. From March 1, 2012 to May 20, 2017, the cancer tissue and adjacent (3 cm from cancer tissue) normal tissue samples of 67 patients with HCC were collected from the tissue sample bank of the Department of Pathology, the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University and the correlation between the expression level of MASP1 and clinical data of patients with HCC were analyzed. Human hepatoma cells lines SK-Hep1 and Hep3B were cultured, and MASP1 overexpression and MASP1 knockdown cell lines were constructed. SK-Hep1 negative control group, SK-Hep1 MASP1 overexpression group, Hep3B negative control group and Hep3B MASP1 knockdown group were set up. The effect of MASP1 on the proliferation of HCC cells was detected by subcutaneous tumor transplantation experiment in nude mice. The effect of MASP1 on the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition related proteins (N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP9), and E-cadherin), and the effects of MASP1 on the expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR) pathway related proteins and their phosphorylation levels were detected by Western blotting. Independent sample- t test, paired- t test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The results of immunohistochemical staining of 20 pairs of fresh tissue samples showed that the expression level of MASP1 in liver cancer tissue was lower than that in adjacent normal tissue (3.73±1.03 vs. 6.76±1.46), and the difference was statistically significant ( t=16.97, P<0.001). The correlation analysis of MASP1 expression level and clinical data of 67 patients with HCC revealed that the expression level of MASP1 was related to vascular invasion of the tumor, and the difference was statistically significant( χ2=5.20, P=0.023). The subcutaneous tumor transplantation experiment in nude mice showed that the volume and weight of subcutaneous tumor of mice in SK-Hep1 MASP1 overexpression group were lower than those of the SK-Hep1 negative control group((165.42±149.08) mm 3vs. (260.42±179.78) mm 3, (0.13±0.12) g vs. (0.18±0.12) g), and the differences were statistically significant ( t=5.15 and 3.89, both P<0.05). The results of Western blotting showed that the expression levels of N-cadherin and MMP9 in SK-Hep1 MASP1 overexpression group were lower than those of SK-Hep1 negative control group, while the expression level of E-cadherin was higher than that of SK-Hep1 negative control group (0.73±0.01 vs. 1.02±0.02, 0.40±0.01 vs. 0.69±0.01, 0.91±0.02 vs. 0.78±0.02), and the differences were statistically significant ( t=24.23, 36.87 and 9.27, all P<0.001). The expression levels of N-cadherin and MMP9 in Hep3B MASP1 knockdown group were higher than those in Hep3B negative control group, and the expression levels of E-cadherin was lower than that in Hep3B negative control group (1.04±0.01 vs. 0.31±0.01, 0.54±0.02 vs. 0.04±0.01, 0.56±0.01 vs. 0.93±0.01), and the differences were statistically significant ( t=163.20, 53.16, 60.74, all P<0.001). The expression levels of phosphoinositide PI3K, phosphoinositide Akt, and phosphoinositide mTOR of SK-Hep1 MASP1 overexpression group were lower than those of SK-Hep1 negative control group (0.59±0.01 vs.1.02±0.01, 0.64±0.01 vs. 1.12±0.02, 0.10±0.01 vs. 1.05±0.02); the expression levels of phosphoinositide PI3K, phosphoinositide Akt, and phosphoinositide mTOR of Hep3B MASP1 knockdown group were higher than those of Hep3B negative control group (0.96±0.01 vs. 0.55±0.01, 0.99±0.01 vs. 0.38±0.01, 0.93±0.02 vs. 0.06±0.01), and the differences were statistically significant ( t=40.87, 40.91, 87.30, 44.17, 107.50, 67.28, all P<0.001). Conclusions:The expression level of MASP1 is low in HCC tissue, and is significantly correlated with the poor prognosis of HCC patients and the occurrence of tumor vascular invasion. MASP1 may affect the proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells by regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, suggesting that MASP1 may become a key gene in the treatment of HCC.
