Clinical significance of LARGE1 in progression of liver cancer and the underlying mechanism

Liver cancer is a malignant disease and causes thousands of death each year. The prognosis is dismal for patients with metastasis and recurrence. It is urgent to disclose the cause and mechanism underlying liver cancer. LARGE1 encodes a glycosyltransferase and was reported to promote progression in cancer. But its role in liver cancer is unknown. In this study, LARGE1 displayed upregulated expression in liver cancer cells. When LARGE1 was knocked down in SMMC-7721 and Huh-7 cells, the ability of cell proliferation and colony formation were decreased significantly. Cell migration and invasion were suppressed. The number of cells in G1 phase increased but decreased in S phase. Cell apoptosis was not affected. Tumor growth in vivo was also inhibited. Tumor volume was decreased from 1270 mm(3) to 721 mm(3) (p < 0.05) and tumor weight from 0.95 g to 0.63 g (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the expression of beta-catenin, TCF and Cyclin D1 was reduced when LARGE1 was knocked down but increased in LARGE1-overexpressed cells. LGK-974, a specific inhibitor in canonical Wnt signaling, inhibited cell proliferation even when LARGE1 was over-expressed. In tumor tissues, LARGE1 was increased by 4.8 folds compared to paratumoral tissues. And higher LARGE1 expression caused shorter survival. Clinicopathological analysis demonstrated that LARGE1 was associated with TNM stage (I/II vs III/IV, p = 0.005). Therefore, LARGE1 promotes progression and regulates Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in liver cancer.

Automated summary

The study revealed that LARGE1 is upregulated in liver cancer cells and its knockdown significantly inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. It also affects cell cycle and tumor growth while regulating the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway.