Silence of cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 represses cell proliferation and migration and promotes apoptosis in liver cancer cell lines.

Abstract

To investigate the roles of cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 (CKAP2) in proliferation, apoptosis, and migration in liver cancer cells and the potential mechanisms. Human normal hepatocyte L02 and liver cancer cell lines HepG2, Huh7, and SMMC-7721 were cultured. The CKAP2 expression was detected by real-time PCR and Western blotting. HepG2 cells were randomly divided into a control group, a negative control (NC) group, and a CKAP2 silencing (siCKAP2) group. CCK-8 and BrdU assays were used to evaluate cell viability and proliferation, respectively. Transwell assay was employed to determine cell migration and invasion. The protein levels of cleaved-caspase 3, Bax, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, phosphorylated Janus kinase 2 (p-JAK2), and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) were determined by Western blotting. Compared with normal hepatocyte L02, CKAP2 was highly expressed in liver cancer cell lines HepG2, Huh7, and SMMC-7721 (all P<0.05). Compared with the NC group, cell viability and proliferation rate of the siCKAP2 group were decreased (both P<0.05). The apoptotic rate, protein expression of cleaved-caspase 3 and Bax in the siCKAP2 group were significantly higher than those in the NC group (all P<0.05). Compared with the NC group, cell migration and invasion rates of the siCKAP2 group were significantly attenuated (both P<0.05). Compared with the NC group, E-cadherin protein expression in siCKAP2 group was increased, while protein expression levels of Vimentin, N-cadherin, p-JAK2, and p-STAT3 were decreased (all P<0.05). CKAP2 gene silence inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion, and promotes apoptosis in liver cancer cells, while JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway may be involved in these processes.