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ANGPTL 2 promotes tumor metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma
Author(s) -
Gao Lin,
Ge Chao,
Fang Tao,
Zhao Fangyu,
Chen Taoyang,
Yao Ming,
Li Jinjun,
Li Hong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/jgh.12702
Subject(s) - metastasis , hepatocellular carcinoma , cell migration , cancer research , cell culture , biology , gentamicin protection assay , gene knockdown , in vitro , immunohistochemistry , pathology , immunology , medicine , cancer , genetics , biochemistry
Background and Aim Angiopoietin‐like protein 2 ( ANGPTL 2) plays various roles in metabolism, vascular biology, inflammation, and tumor metastasis, but little is known about its function in human hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) metastasis. This study aimed to further explore the function of ANGPTL 2 on migration and invasion of liver cancer cells. Methods Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, transwell migration, and invasion assays were performed to clarify the function of ANGPTL 2 in the regulation of cell migration and invasion in human HCC . Results In HCC patients, ANGPTL 2 expression was higher in HCC tissues compared with matched noncancerous liver tissues. And the ANGPTL 2 levels of HCC tissues positively correlated with intrahepatic metastasis in HCC patients. Overexpression of ANGPTL 2 significantly increased migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro , and promoted intrahepatic and distal pulmonary metastasis in vivo , while knockdown of endogenous ANGPTL 2 resulted in a reduced migration and invasion in vitro . Colony formation assay and 3‐(4,5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2, 5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide ( MTT ) assay showed ANGPTL 2 did not affect cell proliferation in vitro , whereas overexpression of ANGPTL 2 promoted tumor formation in xenograft animal model. Conclusions Our findings show that ANGPTL 2 drives human HCC metastasis and provides a potential therapeutic target for HCC treatment.