SP1/RNASEH2A accelerates the development of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating EMT

The expression level of Ribonuclease H2, subunit A (RNASEH2A) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported, but the function of RNASEH2A on HCC cells development and the related molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we intend to explore the upstream regulator of RNASEH2A and its role in the HCC progression.

GEPIA website was employed to determine the level of RNASEH2A in HCC tissues and get a survival analysis. After reducing RNASEH2A expression by RNA interference, cell counting kit-8, colony formation, Western blot, Transwell and wound healing assays were performed to estimate the malignant properties of HCC cells. The transcriptional factor of RNASEH2A was predicted by UCSC and JASPAR database and confirmed by dual luciferase assay and Ch-IP assay. The expression level of EMT pathway related molecules was determined by western blotting.

An increased expression of RNASEH2A was presented in HCC and predicted worse prognosis of HCC patients. Functionally, the results demonstrated that depletion of RNASEH2A suppressed HCC cell proliferation, cell cycle, migration and invasion. Moreover, we illustrated that SP1 targeted to the promoter of RNASEH2A and modulated its expression in HCC cell lines. RNASEH2A knockdown counteracted the function of SP1 overexpression in modulating HCC cell growth, cell cycle, and mobility. Then, our data showed that the SP1/RNASEH2A axis affected the malignant behaviors of HCC cells by regulating EMT process.

In summary, these results demonstrated that RNASEH2A promoted HCC cells development through regulating EMT process and was transcriptionally modulated by SP1.