Ubiquitin-specific protease 4 promotes metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by increasing TGF-β signaling-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

ABSTRACT: Invasion and metastasis are the main cause of recurrence and death in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Revealing the mechanisms of HCC metastasis is important for developing new therapeutic approaches and reducing patient mortality. Ubiquitin specific protease 4 (USP4), is involved in tumorigenesis by deubiquitinating some important oncogenic proteins and impacting their degradation. In the present study, we found that USP4 was significantly upregulated in HCC tumor tissues and the high expression of USP4 was associated with distant metastasis and poor survival in patients. Using gene interference, we demonstrated that USP4 knockdown significantly inhibited HCC cell migration and invasion in vitro, and USP4 overexpression had the opposite results. In vivo, we also fou

SUBMITTER: Qiu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6224254 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature