title: Knockdown of SOX18 inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. Recent studies have demonstrated that SOX18 is highly expressed in various types of cancer. In the present study, we found that SOX18 mRNA was overexpressed in HCC compared with non-tumorous tissues. We aimed to explore the effects of SOX18 siRNA on the proliferation, invasion and migration of two HCC cell lines, MHCC97H and HepG2, which overexpress SOX18. We found that SOX18 siRNA significantly inhibited the proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Results of the Transwell assay showed that the migration and invasion of the HCC cells were markedly impaired in the SOX18-knockdown cells. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that KEGG focal adhesion and chemokine signaling pathways were correlated with SOX18 expression. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein levels of RhoA, PDGFB, IGF1R, CCL2, CCL3 and CCL5 were decreased in the SOX18-knockdown cells. Importantly, we demonstrated that upregulation of SOX18 was associated with a poor outcome in HCC patients. These results indicate that SOX18 may serve as a prognostic factor and a promising therapeutic strategy for HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guiming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wenbo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Gaochao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Shanxi Dayi Hospital, Taiyuan 030032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haoliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000235:genetics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D055760:SOXF Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C095473:SOX18 protein, human; D055760:SOXF Transcription Factors