Piezo1 impairs hepatocellular tumor growth via deregulation of the MAPK-mediated YAP signaling pathway

* Corresponding author at: Lingnan Medical Research Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese China. Accumulating evidence has revealed the mechanosensitive ion channel protein Piezo1 is contributing to tumorigenesis. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unexplored. In this study, we demonstrated that Piezo1 was expressed in the HepG2 cell line and depletion of Piezo1 impaired proliferation and migration, as well as increased apoptosis in these cells. Using a Piezo1-specific activator, Yoda1, we iden-tified that calcium entry induced by Yoda1 resulted in phosphorylation of JNK, p38, and ERK, thereby activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, in a dose-and time-dependent manner. More strikingly, Piezo1 activation integrated with YAP signaling to control the nuclear translocation of YAP and regulation of its target genes. JNK, p38, and ERK (MAPK signaling) regulated Yoda1-induced YAP activation. Consistent with the association of calpain with Piezo1, we also found that calpain activity was decreased by siRNA-mediated knockdown of Piezo1. In addition, the growth of HCC tumors was inhibited in Piezo1 haploinsufficient mice. Together, our findings establish that the Piezo1/MAPK/YAP signaling cascade is essential for HepG2 cell func-tion. These results highlight the importance of Piezo1 in HCC and the potential utility of Piezo1 as a biomarker and therapeutic target.

Automated summary

The study revealed the crucial role of Piezo1 in HCC, showing that activation of the MAPK/YAP signaling cascade controls tumor cell growth and migration, highlighting its significance as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target.