Downregulation of PRRX1 via the p53-dependent signaling pathway predicts poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Paired-related homeobox 1 (PRRX1) has been identified as a novel molecule associated with induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), acquisition of cancer stem cell like properties and poor prognosis in tumors. However, the function of PRRX1 in hepatocellular carcinoma has not been elucidated. In the present study, we observed that PRRX1 expression levels were downregulated and positively correlated with the downregulated expression of p53 in hepatocellular carcinoma specimens. Decreased expression of PRRX1 and/or p53 by siRNA induced both the migration and the invasion features of HCC cells in vitro. Furthermore, the loss of PRRX1 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell apoptosis, an anti-apoptotic expression profile was upregulated accompanied by downregulated expression of p53. HCC patients with low-expression of both PRRX1 and p53 had a significantly shorter overall and disease-free survival. These findings demonstrate that PRRX1 plays an important role in metastasis and apoptosis of HCC cells through the p53-dependent signaling pathway and is expected to become a novel biomarker associated with patient prognosis and survival.