title: The silencing of Pokemon attenuates the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt pathway.
abstract: Pokemon (POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor), which belongs to the POK protein family, is also called LRF, OCZF and FBI-1. As a transcriptional repressor, Pokemon assumes a critical function in cellular differentiation and oncogenesis. Our study identified an oncogenic role for Pokemon in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We successfully established human HepG2 and Huh-7 cell lines in which Pokemon was stably knocked down. We demonstrated that Pokemon silencing inhibited cell proliferation and migration. Pokemon knockdown inhibited the PI3K/Akt and c-Raf/MEK/ERK pathways and modulated the expression of various cell cycle regulators in HepG2 and Huh-7 cells. Therefore, Pokemon may also be involved in cell cycle progression in these cells. We confirmed that Pokemon silencing suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma growth in tumor xenograft mice. These results suggest that Pokemon promotes cell proliferation and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma and accelerates tumor development in an Akt- and ERK-signaling-dependent manner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
authors.forename: Chan-Chan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jing-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yun-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing-Jing
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao-Ning
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Amarsanaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jazag
authors.forename: Zhi-Ping
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bayasi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guleng
authors.forename: Jian-Lin
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014945:Wound Healing; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D014157:Transcription Factors; C485514:ZBTB7A protein, human; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt