SPATS2, negatively regulated by miR-145-5p, promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through regulating cell
Gang Dong1, Shanshan Zhang2, Shen Shen3,4
1Department of Ultrasound, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 450052, Zhengzhou, China. fccdongg@zzu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Spermatogenesis associated serine rich 2 (SPATS2) has been reported to contribute to the tumorigenesis of multiple malignancies. The molecular function of SPATS2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still not fully understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression pattern and function roles of SPATS2 in HCC. The regulation of SPATS2 expression was also explored. We found that SPATS2 was highly expressed in HCC tissues in comparison with that in adjacent normal tissues. High expression of SPATS2 was associated with vascular invasion, advanced TNM stages, tumor multiplicity, and poor survival. Functionally, SPATS2 was found to promote the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo, while knockdown of SPATS2 enhanced apoptosis and G1 arrest of HCC cells in vitro. Mechanistically, bioinformatics analysis revealed that MiR-145-5p directly targeted SPATS2 and functional rescue experiments verified that MiR-145-5p overexpression could abolish the effect of SPATS2 on the regulation of HCC malignant phenotype. Taken together, our findings suggest that SPATS2 functions as an oncogene in HCC. The MiR-145-5p/SPATS2 axis provides a novel mechanism underlying HCC progression and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for HCC.
Related Concept Videos
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Abnormal Proliferation
Negative Regulator Molecules
The Spindle Assembly Checkpoint
Many proteins function together to control the spindle assembly checkpoint. Mutations affecting these proteins may allow cells to proceed into anaphase prematurely, resulting in the...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Somatic...
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway


