HCRP1 inhibits TGF-β induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma-related protein 1 (HCRP1), also known as human vacuolar protein sorting 37 homologue A (hVps37A), has not been detected or is significantly downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. However, information on the regulatory mechanisms of HCRP1 in HCC remains unclear. Here we found that the downregulation of HCRP1 in HepG2 cells (with low invasion capacity) significantly enhanced migration and invasion, whereas HCRP1 upregulation in SMMC-7721 cells (with high invasion capacity) generated the opposite result. Interestingly, the morphology of HepG2 cells significantly changed from an epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype after HCRP1 knockdown. Moreover, we observed a decrease in the expression of epithelial cell markers E-cadherin and beta-catenin, and an increase in the expression of mesenchymal cell markers N-cadherin and vimentin. We also observed that the downregulation of HCRP1 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through the transforming growth factor-beta pathway. Together, our findings define a novel function for HCRP1 from the perspective of EMT, which is closely associated with the migration and invasion of HCC cells.