Involvement of PEG10 in human hepatocellular carcinogenesis through interaction with SIAH1

Through a genome-wide cDNA microarray, we identified that the paternally expressed gene 10 (PEG10) was highly expressed in a great majority of hepatocellular carcinomas, although its expression was absent in normal liver cells. Exogenous expression of PEG10 conferred oncogenic activity and transfection of hepatoma cells with antisense S-oligonucleotides suppressing PEG10 resulted in their growth inhibition. Additional experiments revealed that PEG10 protein associated with SIAH1, a mediator of apoptosis, and that overexpression of PEG10 decreased the cell death mediated by SIAH1. These findings suggested that development of drug(s) inhibiting PEG10 activity could be a novel approach for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinomas.