INTS8 accelerates the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating the TGF-β signaling pathway

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of death by malignancy worldwide. HCC has a poor prognosis due to tumor invasiveness and metastasis. There is substantial evidence that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a central role in cancer metastasis. In a previous study, a possible association between integrator complex 8 (INTS8) and the progression and development of HCC was discovered. However, its role and the molecular mechanisms in HCC are poorly understood. Methods: The PROGgeneV2 platform database and Kaplan-Meier plotter analysis were used to analyze the potential effects of INTS8 in HCC. Moreover, we performed migration, transwell, and metastasis assays to investigate the effects of INTS8 on HCC cells. In addition, relevant signaling pathways were examined by western blot and RT-qPCR assays. Results: We used the PROGgeneV2 platform database and Kaplan-Meier plotter analysis, which indicated that increased expression of INTS8 is associated with poor overall survival of HCC. Moreover, INTS8 expression was higher in HCC tissues than in adjacent noncancerous tissues. INTS8 depletion reduced the invasion and migration of HCC cell lines. Downregulation of INTS8 in vivo resulted in fewer observed metastatic nodules in lungs. Moreover, INTS8 knockdown also increased the expression of epithelial markers (E-cadherin) and decreased the expression of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin and vimentin) following the downregulation of SMAD4. In addition, pretreatment with TGF-beta 1 could partly prevent the decrease in the expression of SMAD4 and EMT markers induced by INTS8 knockdown. Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest that INTS8 accelerates the EMT in HCC by upregulating the TGF-beta signaling pathway.