The proliverative role of WISP1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver and one of the most common cancer related death. With few treatment options and poor prognosis, HCC poses a major health problem worldwide. In our study we discovered WISP1 as a new marker of HCC. Our data show that WISP1 is highly overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient samples in comparison to healthy patients (2 individuals were tested). WISP1 expression and secretion in HCC cell lines (HLF, FLC4, Huh7) is also strongly increased, time and density dependent. To investigate WISP1 function in hepatocarcinogenesis, HCC cell lines were either treated with recombinant protein or WISP1 RNAi and analyzed for proliferation. WISP1 treatment of HCC cell lines increased BrdU incorporation and PCNA expression, while WISP1 knockdown led to the reversal effect. Moreover, AKT, ERK1/2, Src and FAK, all representing cancer related signaling proteins, were rapidly activated after WISP1 stimulation. Id1, Id2, Id3, key transcription factors in tumor development, and the cell cycle markers CyclinA2, CyclinB1, CyclinD1, CyclinE1 were altered upon WISP1 stimulation. In summary, our study suggests a role for WISP1 in liver cancer.

HCC cell lines - RNAi - Wisp1 - hepatocellular carcinoma - proliferation