Epigenetic silencing of JMJD5 promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by down-regulating the transcription of CDKN1A 686.

Proteins that contain jumonji C (JmjC) domains have recently been identified as major contributors to various malignant human cancers through epigenetic remodeling. However, the roles of these family members in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are obscure. By mining public databases, we found that the HCC patients with lower JmjC domain-containing protein 5 (JMJD5) expression exhibited shorter survival time. We then confirmed that JMJD5 expression was indeed decreased in HCC specimens, which was caused by the altered epigenetic histone modifications, the decreased H3K9ac, H3K27ac and H3K4me2/3 together with the increased trimethylation of H3K27 and H3K9 on the JMJD5 promoter. Functional experiments revealed that JMJD5 knockdown promoted HCC cell proliferation and in vivo tumorigenicity by accelerating the G1/S transition of the cell cycle; in contrast, ectopic JMJD5 expression had the opposite effects. At molecular mechanism, we found that, in HCC cell lines including TP53-null Hep3B, JMJD5 knockdown led to the down-regulation of CDKN1A and ectopic expression of JMJD5 not only increased but also rescued CDKN1A transcription. Moreover, CDKN1A knockdown could abrogate the effect of JMJD5 knockdown or overexpression on cell proliferation, suggesting that JMJD5 inhibits HCC cell proliferation mainly by activating CDKN1A expression. We further revealed that JMJD5 directly enhances CDKN1A transcription by binding to CDKN1A's promoter independent of H3K36me2 demethylase activity. In short, we first prove that JMJD5 is a tumor suppressor gene in HCC pathogenesis, and the epigenetic silencing of JMJD5 promotes HCC cell proliferation by directly down-regulating CDKN1A transcription.

Hepatocyte-Specific Arid1a Deficiency Initiates Mouse Steatohepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

ARID1A, encoding a subunit of chromatin remodeling SWI/SNF complexes, has recently been considered as a new type of tumor suppressor gene for its somatic mutations frequently found in various human tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role and mechanism of inactivated ARID1A mutations in tumorigenesis remain unclear. To investigate the role of ARID1A inactivation in HCC pathogenesis, we generated hepatocyte-specific Arid1a knockout (Arid1aLKO) mice by crossing mice carrying loxP-flanked Arid1a exon 8 alleles (Arid1af/f) with albumin promoter-Cre transgenic mice. Significantly, the hepatocyte-specific Arid1a deficiency results in mouse steatohepatitis and HCC development. In Arid1aLKO mice, we found that innate immune cells, including F4/80+ macrophages and CD11c+ neutrophil cells, infiltrate into the liver parenchyma, accompanied by the increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, and activation of STAT3 and NF-κB pathways. In conclusion, hepatocyte-specific Arid1a deficiency could lead to mouse steatohepatitis and HCC development. This study provides an alternative mechanism by which Arid1a deficiency contributes to HCC tumorigenesis.

Insulin receptor tyrosine kinase substrate activates EGFR/ERK signalling pathway and promotes cell proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Insulin receptor tyrosine kinase substrate (IRTKS) is closely associated with actin remodelling and membrane protrusion, but its role in the pathogenesis of malignant tumours, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is still unknown. In this study, we showed that IRTKS was frequently upregulated in HCC samples, and its expression level was significantly associated with tumour size. Enforced expression of IRTKS in human HCC cell lines significantly promoted their proliferation and colony formation in vitro, and their capacity to develop tumour xenografts in vivo, whereas knockdown of IRTKS resulted in the opposite effects. Furthermore, the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation analyses and propidium iodide staining indicated that IRTKS can promote the entry into S phase of cell cycle progression. Significantly, IRTKS can interact with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), results in the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). By contrast, inhibition of ERK activation can attenuate the effects of IRTKS overexpression on cellular proliferation. Taken together, these data demonstrate that IRTKS promotes the proliferation of HCC cells by enhancing EGFR-ERK signalling pathway.