DNAJ heat shock protein family member C1 can regulate proliferation and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma

Yu-Chun Fan; Zhi-Yong Meng; Chao-Sheng Zhang; De-Wei Wei; Wan-Shuo Wei; Xian-Dong Xie; Ming-Lu Huang; Li-He Jiang

doi:10.7717/peerj.15700

DNAJ heat shock protein family member C1 can regulate proliferation and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma

PeerJ. 2023 Jul 26:11:e15700. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15700. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yu-Chun Fan^{1

2

3}, Zhi-Yong Meng⁴, Chao-Sheng Zhang², De-Wei Wei⁵, Wan-Shuo Wei², Xian-Dong Xie², Ming-Lu Huang⁵, Li-He Jiang^{1

2

3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Medical College, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
² School of Basic Medical Sciences, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Minimally Invasive Techniques & Rapid Rehabilitation of Digestive System Tumor of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ First Clinical Medical College, Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Nanning, China.
⁵ School of Stomatology, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology (Shanxi Medical University), Ministry of Education, Shanxi, China.

Abstract

Background: DNAJ heat shock protein family (Hsp40) member C1(DNAJC1) is a member of the DNAJ family. Some members of the DNAJ gene family had oncogenic properties in many cancers. However, the role of DNAJC1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was unclear.

Methods: In this study, expression and prognostic value of DNAJC1 in HCC were analyzed by bioinformatics. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to verify DNAJC1 expression in liver cancer cell lines. Furthermore, immunohistochemical (IHC) was used to detect DNAJC1 expression in liver cancer tissues. Subsequently, the effect of DNAJC1 on the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of HCC cells was detected by knocking down DNAJC1. Finally, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to investigate the potential mechanism of DNAJC1 and was verified by Western blotting.

Results: DNAJC1 was highly expressed in HCC and was significantly associated with the prognosis of patients with HCC. Importantly, the proliferation, migration and invasion of Huh7 and MHCC97H cells were inhibited by the knockdown of DNAJC1 and the knockdown of DNAJC1 promoted Huh7 and MHCC97H cell apoptosis. Furthermore, compared to the negative control group, DNAJC1 knockdown in Huh7 and MHCC97H cells promoted the expression of p21, p53, p-p53(Ser20), Bax and E-cadherin proteins, while inhibiting the expression of PARP, MMP9, Vimentin, Snai1, Bcl-2 and N-cadherin proteins.

Conclusions: DNAJC1 had a predictive value for the prognosis of HCC. Knockdown of DNAJC1 may inhibit HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion and promote the HCC cell apoptosis through p53 and EMT signaling pathways.

Keywords: Bioinformatic analysis; DNAJC1; Hepatocellular carcinoma.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Research project on high-level talents of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities (Grant No. YY2021SK02), the Foundation of Nanning Qingxiu District Key Research and Development Project (Grant No. 2020023), the Key Laboratory of Minimally Invasive Techniques & Rapid Rehabilitation of Digestive System Tumor of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. 21SZDSYS13) Open Fund from Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology (Shanxi Medical University), Ministry of Education, China (Grant No. CELLPHYSIOL/SXMU-2021-08), the Grant of National-level project of university students’ innovation and entrepreneurship in 2022 (Grant No. 202210599005; 202210599007) and the Grant of Guangxi provincial-level project of university students’ innovation and entrepreneurship in 2022 (Grant No. S202210599056). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.