Abstract
Liver cancer, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is an aggressive disease with an extremely high mortality rate. Unfortunately, no promising markers are currently available for the early diagnosis of this disease. Thus, a reliable biomarker reflecting the early behaviour of the tumour will be valuable for diagnosis and treatment. The Ras homologous (Rho) GTPases, which belong to the small guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding proteins, have been reported to play an important role in mediating liver cancer based on their important function in cytoskeletal reorganisation. These proteins can be either oncogenic or tumour suppressors. They are also associated with the acquirement of malignant features by cancer cells. The overexpression of RhoA and Rac1, members of the Rho GTPases, have been linked with carcinogenesis and the progression of different types of cancer. In the quest of elucidating the role of mechanical stimulation in the mechanobiology of liver cancer cells, this paper evaluates the effect of stretching on the expression levels of RhoA and Rac1 in different types of liver cancers. It is shown that that stretching liver cancer cells significantly increases the expression levels of RhoA and Rac1 in HCC and cholangiocarcinoma cell lines. We hypothesise that this relatively simple and sensitive method could be helpful for screening biological features and provide suitable treatment guidance for liver cancer patients.
Highlights
Liver cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies, with an estimated more than 31,000 deaths in 2019
We placed the membrane into the periodic stretching platform so that the cells could be subjected to mechanical stimulations
We observed the overexpression of Ras homologous (Rho) protein markers (RhoA and Rac1) in different liver cancer cells when they were stretched for a prolonged period
Summary
Liver cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies, with an estimated more than 31,000 deaths in 2019. Liver cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death for men and the seventh, for women. The overall mortality rate more than doubled from 1980 to 2016 [1,2]. Liver cancer was most prevalent in Asian and African regions. It is rapidly becoming more prevalent in Western countries due to an increase in the hepatitis C infection rate and cancers associated with alcohol and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [3,4,5]. Liver cancer has emerged as a global health problem
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