CRP­1 promotes the malignant behavior of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via activating epithelial­mesenchymal transition and Wnt/ß­catenin signaling.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. It has been reported that cysteine rich protein 1 (CRP-1) is dysregulated in several types of human cancer; however, its role in HCC is poorly understood. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the role of CRP-1 in HCC. Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR results showed that CRP-1 was upregulated in HCC cell lines. Furthermore, for in vitro experiments, CRP-1 was knocked down and overexpressed in the HCC cell lines Hep 3B2.1-7 and BEL-7405, respectively. c-Myc and proliferating cell nuclear antigen upregulation, and cleaved caspase 3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase downregulation suggested that CRP-1 silencing could inhibit the proliferation and colony-forming ability of HCC cells, and induce apoptosis. In addition, CRP-1 overexpression promoted the malignant behavior of HCC cells and induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as verified by E-cadherin downregulation, and N-cadherin and vimentin upregulation. Additionally, CRP-1 overexpression promoted the nuclear translocation of ß-catenin, and activated the expression of cyclin D1 and matrix metalloproteinase-7. Furthermore, inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, following cell treatment with XAV-939, an inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, abrogated the effects of CRP-1 on enhancing the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. These findings indicated that the regulatory effect of CRP-1 on HCC cells could be mediated by the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Overall, CRP-1 could promote the proliferation and migration of HCC cell lines, partially via promoting EMT and activating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.