Identification of PAQR3 as a new candidate tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma

Progestin and adipoQ receptor family member III (PAQR3) is a regulator that negatively modulates the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling cascade and the GPCR Gβγ subunit signaling pathway. The role of PAQR3 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been elucidated. The present study investigated the expression of PAQR3 and its prognostic value in primary HCC patients. Furthermore, the functional aspects of PAQR3 were also studied using an in vitro cell model. PAQR3 expression was examined in paired HCC and adjacent noncancerous tissues using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (62 pairs) and western blotting (26 pairs). We also analyzed PAQR3 expression in 132 additional HCC samples by immunohistochemistry. The functional impact of PAQR3 on the proliferation and colony formation of an HCC cell line was analyzed by transfecting cells with a full-length PAQR3 expression vector or siRNA targeting PAQR3. The expression of PAQR3 was significantly decreased in the cancer tissues. Clinicopathological analyses showed that the expression of PAQR3 was significantly correlated with expression of serum α-fetoprotein (AFP), mitotic count, tumor size, histological grade and recurrence. Notably, Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed a correlation between decreased expression of PAQR3 and the poor prognosis of HCC patients. Multivariate analyses showed that PAQR3 expression is an independent prognostic marker for overall and disease-free survival of HCC patients. Furthermore, restoring PAQR3 expression in HCC cells significantly diminished Hep3B cell proliferation and colony formation. Silencing PAQR3 expression in hepatic normal cell line LO2 significantly enhanced cell growth. PAQR3 may play an important role in the progression of HCC and serve as a potential candidate for the targeted therapy of HCC.