1. Clinical significance and functional role of transmembrane protein 47 (TMEM47) in chemoresistance of hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Author
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Ng KT, Yeung OW, Liu J, Li CX, Liu H, Liu XB, Qi X, Ma YY, Lam YF, Lau MY, Qiu WQ, Shiu HC, Lai MK, Lo CM, and Man K
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Animals, Apoptosis drug effects, Biomarkers, Tumor metabolism, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular genetics, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular pathology, Cell Line, Tumor, Chemoembolization, Therapeutic, Cisplatin administration & dosage, Doxorubicin administration & dosage, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm, Female, Humans, Liver Neoplasms genetics, Liver Neoplasms pathology, Male, Membrane Proteins genetics, Membrane Proteins metabolism, Mice, Mice, Nude, Middle Aged, Nerve Tissue Proteins genetics, Nerve Tissue Proteins metabolism, Up-Regulation, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Young Adult, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols pharmacology, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular drug therapy, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular metabolism, Liver Neoplasms drug therapy, Liver Neoplasms metabolism, Membrane Proteins biosynthesis, Nerve Tissue Proteins biosynthesis
- Abstract
Chemoresistance is the main cause of chemotherapy failure in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The gene encoding transmembrane protein 47 (TMEM47) was previously identified to be significantly upregulated in HCC cell lines with acquired chemoresistance. The aim of the present study was to characterize the clinical significance and function of TMEM47 in HCC chemoresistance. The results demonstrated that the TMEM47 expression levels in the tumors of patients not responding to cisplatin‑based transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment was significantly higher compared with those in patients who responded to TACE treatment. Moreover, analyses from clinical samples and HCC cell lines indicated that TMEM47 expression may be upregulated in HCC in response to cisplatin treatment. Furthermore, the TMEM47 mRNA expression levels were positively correlated with the degree of cisplatin resistance of HCC cells. Overexpression of TMEM47 in HCC cells significantly promoted cisplatin resistance. The present study also demonstrated that targeted inhibition of TMEM47 could significantly reduce cisplatin resistance of cisplatin‑resistant HCC cells via enhancing caspase‑mediated apoptosis. In addition, targeted inhibition of TMEM47 enhanced the sensitivity of cisplatin‑resistant cells to cisplatin via suppressing cisplatin‑induced activation of the genes involved in drug efflux and metabolism. The present study also validated that TMEM47 expression was significantly correlated with multidrug resistance‑associated protein 1 in patients with HCC who received TACE treatment. In conclusion, the findings of the present study demonstrated that TMEM47 may be a useful biomarker for predicting the response to chemotherapy and a potential therapeutic target for overcoming HCC chemoresistance.
- Published
- 2020
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