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Theranostics 2020; 10(8):3833-3848. doi:10.7150/thno.41712 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Interleukin 1β-mediated HOXC10 Overexpression Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis by Upregulating PDPK1 and VASP

Yunzhi Dang^1,2†, Jie Chen^1†, Weibo Feng^1†, Chenyang Qiao^1†, Weili Han¹, Yongzhan Nie¹, Kaichun Wu¹, Daiming Fan¹, Limin Xia^1,3✉

1. State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, The fourthMilitary Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China.
2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Xijing Hospital. The fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
3. Department of Gastroenterology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China.
^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

✉ Corresponding author: Dr. Limin Xia, State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China; Department of Gastroenterology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China; Phone: 86 29 8477 1502; Fax: 86 29 8253 9041; Email: xialiminedu.cn. More

Abstract

Rationale: Metastasis and recurrence are the primary reasons for the high mortality rate of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the exact mechanism underlying HCC metastasis remains unclear. The Homeobox (HOX) family proteins, which are a highly conserved transcription factor superfamily, play important roles in cancer metastasis. Here, we report a novel role of HOXC10, one of the most upregulated HOX genes in human HCC tissues, in promoting HCC metastasis.

Methods: The expression of HOXC10 and its functional targets was detected by immunohistochemistry in two independent human HCC cohorts. Luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were used to measure the transcriptional regulation of target genes by HOXC10. The effect of HOXC10-mediated invasion and metastasis were analyzed by Transwell assays and by an orthotopic metastasis model.

Results: Elevated expression of HOXC10 was positively correlated with the loss of tumor encapsulation and with higher tumor-nodule-metastasis (TNM) stage and poor prognosis in human HCC. Overexpression of HOXC10 promoted HCC metastasis by upregulating metastasis-related genes, including 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDPK1) and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP). Knockdown of PDPK1 and VASP inhibited HOXC10-enhanced HCC metastasis, whereas upregulation of PDPK1 and VASP rescued the decreased metastasis induced by HOXC10 knockdown. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), which is the ligand of IL-1R1, upregulated HOXC10 expression through the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-Jun pathway. HOXC10 knockdown significantly reduced IL-1β-mediated HCC metastasis. Furthermore, Anakinra, a specific antagonist of IL-1R1, inhibited IL-1β-induced HOXC10 upregulation and HCC metastasis. In human HCC tissues, HOXC10 expression was positively correlated with PDPK1, VASP and IL-1R1 expression, and patients with positive coexpression of HOXC10/PDPK1, HOXC10/VASP or IL-1R1/HOXC10 exhibited the poorest prognosis.

Conclusions: Upregulated HOXC10 induced by IL-1β promotes HCC metastasis by transactivating PDPK1 and VASP expression. Thus, our study implicates HOXC10 as a prognostic biomarker, and targeting this pathway may be a promising therapeutic option for the clinical prevention of HCC metastasis.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, metastasis, homeobox C10, interleukin-1β, interleukin 1 receptor type 1.

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