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LRG1 suppresses the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

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Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor driven by complex pathological mechanisms and is characterized by fast progression and poor prognosis. The main cause of death in HCC patients is tumor metastasis. However, underlying molecular mechanisms of metastasis are largely unknown in HCC. In the present study, a novel metastasis-related gene, leucine-rich-alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1), was identified in HCC. We revealed that LRG1 expression was downregulated in HCC tissues by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemical staining. In vitro assays demonstrated LRG1 had no effect on cell proliferation. Migratory and invasive potential of HCC cells was reduced by ectopic overexpression of LRG1, whereas silencing LRG1 could enhance migration and invasion of HCC cells. Furthermore, exogenous recombinant human protein of LRG1 could inhibit migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. The above findings indicate that LGR1 is involved in the inhibition of HCC metastasis and it may function as a novel metastasis suppressor in HCC.

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Abbreviations

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

LRG1:

Leucine-rich-alpha-2-glycoprotein 1

LRR:

Leucine-rich repeat

CRP:

C-reaction protein

TMA:

Tissue microarray

DMEM:

Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

GAPDH:

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

CCK-8:

Cell Count Kit-8

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Fund of China (81301818, 81371883), Grants from the State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes (91-1305, 91-1411, SB14-03), Doctoral Innovation Fund Projects from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (BXJ201319), and Key Discipline and Specialty Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning.

Conflict of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 25 Xie-tu Road, Shanghai, 200032, China

      Yurong Zhang, Qin Luo, Ning Wang, Haojie Jin, Cun Wang & Wenxin Qin

    2. Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai, China

      Fangyuan Hu & Tianxiang Ge

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    1. Yurong Zhang
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    2. Qin Luo
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    Correspondence to Cun Wang or Wenxin Qin.

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    Yurong Zhang and Qin Luo have equally contributed to this work.

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    Zhang, Y., Luo, Q., Wang, N. et al. LRG1 suppresses the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Med Oncol 32, 146 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-015-0598-7

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