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Glucose-Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78) Silencing Enhances Cell Migration but Does Not Influence Cell Proliferation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

  • Translational Research and Biomarkers
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Abstract

Background

GRP78 plays an essential role in embryonic development and in the therapeutic treatment and progression of cancer. However, little is known about the role of GRP78 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

In this study, we characterized five different HCC cell lines to examine GRP78 expression patterns and found that only HepJ5 cells ectopically overexpress GRP78. We knocked down GRP78 expression in HepJ5 cells using a small interfering RNA (siRNA), and the proliferation assay and migration assay were performed.

Results

Using siRNA technique, we could successfully reduce GRP78 expression levels in HepJ5 cells. In a cell growth study, we found that GRP78-siRNA caused no significant changes in cellular proliferation in 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), colony formation, and cell cycle distribution. In a cell migration study, we found that GRP78-siRNA HepJ5 cells had dramatically increased migration ability in Transwell assay.

Conclusions

We conclude that ectopically expressed GRP78 does not contribute to the increased proliferation of HepJ5 cells, but does correlate with the migration of HCC cells under normoxic conditions.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by a grant from Taipei Medical University/Chi-Mei Medical Grant (96CM-TMU-06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yu-Jia Chang PhD, Chih-Hsiung Wu PhD, Po-Li Wei PhD & Ming-Te Huang MD

  2. Translational Research Laboratory of Cancer Center and Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yu-Jia Chang PhD, Tsan-Zon Liu PhD & Po-Li Wei PhD

  3. Department of Surgery, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan

    Chong-Chi Chiu MD

  4. Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chih-Hsiung Wu PhD & Ming-Te Huang MD

  5. New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York

    Jane An BS & Cheng-Chia Wu BS

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  1. Yu-Jia Chang PhD
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Correspondence to Po-Li Wei PhD or Ming-Te Huang MD.

Additional information

Yu-Jia Chang and Chong-Chi Chiu contributed equally to this study.

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Chang, YJ., Chiu, CC., Wu, CH. et al. Glucose-Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78) Silencing Enhances Cell Migration but Does Not Influence Cell Proliferation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol 17, 1703–1709 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-010-0912-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-010-0912-8

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