Knockdown of PAK1IP1 can Induce Pyroptosis to Inhibit the Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

To identify potential prognostic biomarkers and uncover new mechanisms underlying hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

HCC is a prevalent and fatal malignancy originating from hepatic cells, with a consistently rising incidence in recent decades.

To identify potential prognostic biomarkers, specifically focusing on the role of PAK1-interacting protein 1 (PAK1IP1), and to uncover novel mechanistic insights in HCC.

HCC-related datasets (GSE45267 and GSE49515) and data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were retrieved for the analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The common DEGs were subsequently subjected to weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), protein-protein interaction network (PPI), risk model, expression, survival, and prognostic nomogram to determine key genes associated with HCC. Further, the key gene was analyzed using clinical feature analysis, immunoassay, and cell experiments to investigate its exact role in HCC.

Based on the above comprehensive analysis, we targeted the key gene PAK1IP1 with a good prognostic value in HCC. PAK1IP1 showed a remarkably higher increase in tumor samples than in normal samples, which might be related to immune cell infiltration in liver cancer. It was up-regulated in HCC cells, and its knockdown could suppress HCC proliferation and migration. Besides, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that PAK1IP1 could regulate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pyroptosis of HCC cells. Knocking down PAK1IP1 could lead to increased expression of caspase 3 (CASP-3), gasdermin E (GSDME)-N, cleaved caspase-1, and gasdermin-D (GSDMD)-N in HCC cells, inducing pyroptosis, thereby inhibiting the development of HCC.

To summarize, PAK1IP1 was identified as a promising prognostic biomarker, and the knockdown of PAK1IP1 can induce pyroptosis to suppress HCC development, which sheds new light on HCC tumorigenesis.