MCM4 in human hepatocellular carcinoma: a potent prognostic factor associated with cell proliferation

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major public health problem. MCM4, a constitutive member of the minichromosomal maintenance protein family, has been reported to play a vital role in cancer malignancy behavior. However, the function of MCM4 in HCC remains largely unknown. The present study explored the specific role of MCM4 in HCC. The data from public datasets including TCGA and GTEx showed that MCM4 was overexpressed in HCC and significantly associated with poor prognosis. Immunohistochemistry results from 102 HCC patients suggested that high-level expression of MCM4 was correlated with tumor size. Then a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to investigate the function of MCM4 in HCC tumor cells. MCM4 silencing suppressed the cell proliferation and sphere formation of hepatoma cells. Moreover, silencing MCM4 significantly decreased the growth of tumors in a xenograft tumor model. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that MCM4 was a potential prognostic predictor associated with poor outcomes of HCC patients and even a therapeutic target for HCC.