Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which exosomes secreted by CHB patients with PNALT and liver inflammation grade (≥A2) affected the development of liver cancer.
Materials and methods: Gene expression was assessed by RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. CCK-8, colony formation, transwell, scratch-wound and flow cytometry assays were used to detect cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis. The interaction of TCF21 and HHIP was assessed by co-immunoprecipitation assay. Luciferase reporter was used to detect the combination of TCF21/HHIP and miR-25-3p. Xenograft studies in nude mice manifested tumour growth ability of miR-25-3p. Bioinformatics analyses were conducted using TargetScan, EVmiRNA, TCGA, GEO, DAVID, COEXPEDIA, UALCAN, UCSC and the Human Protein Atlas databases.
Results: CHB-PNALT-Exo (≥A2) promoted the proliferation and metastasis of HepG2.2.15 cells. miR-25-3p was upregulated in CHB-PNALT-Exo (≥A2). miR-25-3p overexpression promoted cell proliferation and metastasis and was related to poor survival in patients with CHB-PNALT (≥A2). The cell proliferation- and metastasis-promoting functions of CHB-PNALT-Exo (≥A2) were abolished by miR-25-3p inhibitors. TCF21 directly interacted with HHIP. Inhibition of TCF21 or HHIP promoted cell proliferation and metastasis. Knockdown of TCF21 or HHIP counteracted the effects of CHB-PNALT-Exo (≥A2) containing miR-25-3p inhibitor on cell proliferation, metastasis and the expression of Ki67, E-cadherin and caspase-3/-9.
Conclusions: Transfer of miR-25-3p by CHB-PNALT-Exo promoted the development of liver cancer by inhibiting the co-expression of TCF21 and HHIP.
Keywords: CHB; HHIP; TCF21; exosome; liver cancer; miR-25-3p.
© 2020 The Authors. Cell Proliferation Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.